Sharks backrower Teig Wilton is determined to hound rookie half Hugo Savala throughout Saturday\u2019s sudden-death semi-final as Cronulla look to shut down the Roosters\u2019 high-powered attack.<\/p>\n
Wilton has been one of the quiet improvers for the Sharks this year, with the edge forward surpassing the 100-game milestone and growing in confidence with every week.<\/p>\n
The 25-year-old has made a habit of putting pressure on opposition halves in the run to the finals and has helped shut down some of the best playmakers in the game.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a mindset Wilton will carry into Saturday\u2019s elimination final at Sharks Stadium when he lines up opposite Savala.<\/p>\n
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Teig Wilton Try<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to do your role for the team and as a back-rower, the opposing halfback is opposite you in defence,\u201d Wilton said. \u201cIt\u2019s my job to apply that defensive pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery team in the NRL, and our team in particular, we want to put pressure on the opposition in defence. That\u2019s my job and that\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilton ensured Isaiya Katoa had a night to forget when the Sharks defeated the Dolphins in Round 19, while his ability to pressure Cowboys\u2019 halfback Tom Dearden left Andrew Johns raving in commentary a few weeks later.<\/p>\n
The edge forward made sure Lachlan Galvin was never comfortable in last Saturday\u2019s dominant win over the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium.<\/p>\n
The focus now turns to a 23-year-old preparing for his first finals game. Savala has played well beyond his years since making his debut in Round 2 and has showed no signs of struggling under the bright lights of the NRL.<\/p>\n
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Hugo Savala Try<\/p>\n
Finals are a different equation but Roosters skipper James Tedesco backed the youngster to handle the pressure.<\/p>\n
\u201cHugo\u2019s handled everything this year so well,\u201d Tedesco said. \u201cFor a young guy who debuted this year, he\u2019s got an old head on his shoulders. He\u2019s very mature and nothing much fazes him, which is awesome. We\u2019ve just got to keep encouraging that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been pressure games for us the past 5-6 weeks and he\u2019s handled it so well. We\u2019ve just got to keep encouraging him because he\u2019s starting to run the ball now and is feeling more confident, more comfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not just a guy who can kick the ball long, he\u2019s a great footy player who\u2019s been leading us around really well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilton is in his sixth season at the Sharks and has developed into a leader both on and off the field at the club.<\/p>\n
The forward\u2019s voice has been crucial since skipper Cameron McInnes tore his ACL last month, with Wilton and hooker Blayke Brailey stepping up to help fill the void.<\/p>\n
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Teig Wilton proving his worth<\/p>\n
The pair are close friends and Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon is confident they are both the present and the future of the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeig is a developing leader,\u201d Fitzgibbon told NRL.com. \u201cHe is able to identify who the spiritual leaders are for the opposition and he knows how to go after them. He\u2019s been doing that for a number of years but has increased his form this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always had that in him but he\u2019s been playing some stronger football and like Blayke, has started getting noticed for playing some strong footy. They\u2019ve always been consistent but they\u2019ve taken it up a gear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re two young guys who have grown up together and are following the same trend as leaders. Teig has always been a good defender but he\u2019s having a good run of form and people are starting to take notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the biggest beneficiaries of Wilton\u2019s development has been his left-edge half Braydon Trindall.<\/p>\n
The five-eighth has thrived with a bodyguard by his side as the Sharks won seven of their last eight to charge towards the finals.<\/p>\n
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Braydon Trindall Try<\/p>\n
Trindall said Wilton\u2019s presence takes the pressure off him defensively and allows him to focus on orchestrating Cronulla\u2019s attack. It\u2019s no coincidence they have averaged 29 points a game during the eight-game stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome having him there and making all those tackles,\u201d Trindall told NRL.com. \u201cHe\u2019s a bit of a bodyguard for me and is doing an awesome job. I can\u2019t thank him enough for making my tackles.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s put some massive pressure on the other halves and the ball doesn\u2019t get past him too many times. Then ball in hand, he\u2019s been doing an awesome job too. He\u2019s a good back-rower to have on my side, he runs the ball, tackles well and is a good all-round player.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sharks backrower Teig Wilton is determined to hound rookie half Hugo Savala throughout Saturday\u2019s sudden-death semi-final as Cronulla…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128528,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-128527","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}