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BATTLE OF THE HALVES IN NRL PRELIMINARY FINALSCRONULLA VS NORTH QUEENSLANDThe peerless skills of Johnathan Thurston give North Queensland a distinct advantage over Cronulla in Friday nights preliminary final at Allianz Stadium.With 28 try-assists to his name to go with Michael Morgans 16, the Cowboys halves have set up almost double the amount of tries of their Cronulla counterparts. They have also put an extra 17 players into holes in 2016 and on average, kick an extra 115 metres per game.In comparison, James Maloney and Chad Townsend have been a safer pairing for a Sharks team that gets their work done in the forwards. They have made 22 less errors than the Cowboys playmakers, and are also slightly sounder defensively. Townsend has outshone Maloney in assists, setting up 17 linebreaks and 14 tries.KEY STATS:SHARKS:Maloney - 9 try assists, 10 linebreak assists, 7 linebreaks.Townsend - 14 try assists, 17 linebreak assists, 6 tries.COWBOYS:Morgan - 16 try assists, 17 linebreak assists, 11 linebreaks.Thurston - 28 try assists, 27 linebreak assists, 291 kicking metres per game.CRONULLA v NORTH QUEENSLAND KEY HALVES STATSGames: CRO 48 - NQ 44Try assists: CRO 23 - NQ 44Linebreak assists: CRO 27 - NQ 44Kicking metres: CRO 262 per game - NQ 377 per gameTries: CRO 11 - NQ 11Linebreaks: CRO 14 - NQ17Errors: CRO 46 - NQ 68Tackle completions: CRO 86% - NQ 84%MELBOURNE VS CANBERRAWidely regarded as the most clinical number seven in the game, Cooper Cronk gives Melbourne the edge in Saturdays preliminary final . On the cusp of this 300th NRL game, Cronk tops the league with 29 try assists this year, nearly double the combined total (17) of Canberra halves Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer. Cronks kicking game is also difficult to shut down. He averages 284 metres per game off the boot.Although theyve set up fewer tries, Canberras halves are more lethal with the ball in hand. Five-eighth Austin has broken the line 12 times in 18 games, giving the Raiders an edge over Melbourne in total linebreaks made. However, Austin and Sezer will need to reduce their error rate. Theyve made 52 mistakes in 2016 compared to Cronk and Blake Greens combined total of 40.KEY STATSSTORMCooper Cronk - 29 try assists, 23 linebreak assists, kicks 284m per game.Blake Green - 13 try assists, 15 line break assists, 92.56 per cent tackle efficiency.RAIDERSBlake Austin - 4 try assists, 12 line breaks, 8 tries.Aidan Sezer - 13 try assists, kicks 206m per game, 28 errors.MELBOURNE v CANBERRA KEY STATSGames: MEL 46 - CAN 41Try assists: MEL 42 - CAN 17Linebreak assists: MEL 38 - CAN 10Kicking metres: MEL 393 per game - CAN 315 per gameTries: MEL 13 - CAN 13Linebreaks: MEL 14 - CAN 17Errors: MEL 40 - CAN 52Tackle completions: MEL 92% - CAN 88%* Statistics courtesy of Fox Sports Stats Brad Marchand Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. David Pastrnak Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. http://www.thebostonbruinshockey.com/charlie-mcavoy-hockey-jersey/ . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Kevan Miller Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. Johnny Bucyk Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled forward Kevin Porter and defenceman Chad Ruhwedel from the minors as part of a five-player roster shuffle made by the NHLs worst team. WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals recalled pitcher Reynaldo Lopez to make his major league debut Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.The team selected the right-handers contract from Triple-A Syracuse and placed left-handed reliever Sammy Solis on the disabled list with right knee inflammation.Lopez, who is the fifth-ranked prospect in the Nationals organization and 92nd-ranked in baseball, had a 3.27 ERA in four starts for Syracuse after striking out 100 batters in 14 starts for Double-A Harrisburg. Right-hander Joe Ross remains on the DL with shoulder inflammation.At this point in the season, since Joe has been down and we have that rotation slot open, we kind of wanted to see what we got, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said of Lopez. Hes come a long way in a short period of time, and we thought we could not only reward him for what hes done, he gives us a chance to win the game tonight.Wasshington recalled Lopez over right-hander Lucas Giolito, the organizations top prospect.dddddddddddd Giolito posted a 4.70 ERA in two recent starts without a decision before the Nationals optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse on July 8.If Giolito had pitched a little bit better, this might not have happened, manager Dusty Baker said. But the fact that Giolito was having trouble with his secondary pitches -- and in the big leagues, if youre having trouble with your secondary pitches, theyll just sit on that and just sit on your fastball.The Nationals on Tuesday also lost right-handed pitcher Abel de Los Santos, claimed on outright waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. De Los Santos appeared in two major league games for Washington last season, allowing one earned run on two hits in 1 2/3 innings. ' ' '