NEU » h Garoppolo getting knocked out of the game. But that

Its the most damning record in rugby league finals history and now Cronulla must smash a 43-year hoodoo to qualify for their first premiership decider since 1978.No club since preliminary finals were introduced in 1954 have lost six in a row in unified competitions, except the ill-starred Sharks.Falling a game short of a season decider for a seventh consecutive time since they lost the 1978 grand final replay against Manly doesnt bear thinking about for long-suffering Sharks fans.Super League aside, the Sharks last preliminary final win in a united competition was a 20-11 victory over Newtown in 1973 before they lost 10-7 - also to Manly - in the clubs first-ever grand final.Just as disconcertingly going into Friday nights showdown with defending premiers North Queensland, the Sharks managed to score just 30 points in that unprecedented run of six straight grand final qualifier losses - and never more than 10 points in one match.In another unwanted record, Cronulla are contesting their 16th finals series since last making the title match.South Sydneys 10 unsuccessful finals campaigns between their 1971 premiership triumph and return to the 2014 grand final is not a patch on Cronullas run of outs in playoffs.But perhaps the Rabbitohs 43-year wait between drinks is an omen for the Sharks to break their own 43-year grand final drought.Legendary coach Jack Gibson famously said that waiting for Cronulla to win a premiership was akin to leaving the porch light on for missing Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt.In a spooky omen for the Sharks faithful grasping for hope, Holt was born in 1908 - the birth year of premiership rugby league in Australia - and is recorded as dying in 1967, the year Cronulla entered the competition.Cronullas preliminary finals curse has haunted some of the Sharks greatest players, with club Immortals Andrew Ettingshausen and Gavin Miller, Test stars Mark McGaw, Mat Rogers and current skipper Paul Gallen never having experienced the thrill of grand final week.Officially acknowledged as one of Cronullas 10 club legends, David Peachey suffered the torment of four preliminary finals defeats, including three in four seasons.Gallen is the lone survivor of the Sharks most recent preliminary final loss to Melbourne in 2008.But there is hope.Shane Flanagans class of 2016 at least features five players - Ben Barba, James Maloney, Luke Lewis, Chris Heighington and Michael Ennis - who have won preliminary finals and, whisper it softly, even grand finals with other clubs.Dont turn that porch light off just yet.CRONULLA CURSE: SHARKS PRELIMINARY FINAL WOES2008: lost 28-0 to Melbourne2002: lost 16-10 to Warriors2001: lost 18-10 to Newcastle1999: lost 24-8 to St George Illawarra1996: lost 24-0 to Manly1988: lost 9-2 to Balmain1973: BEAT Newtown 20-11*In 1978, the Sharks qualified straight for the grand final and didnt contest a preliminary final. Air Jordan 1 Wholesale . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. Vapormax Off White Fake For Sale . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. http://www.fakeyeezyscheap.com/ . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Vans China Factory . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Yeezy Boost China Wholesale . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Under Bill Belichick the New England Patriots have, in many ways, mastered the art of getting headlining performances out of understudies.Hell have to pull off his magic again if the Patriots are going to keep their early season momentum.New England improved to 21-1 at home against the AFC East since 2009 with its 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. But it also left with yet another quarterback issue to resolve after Jimmy Garoppolo had a Tom Brady-light performance halted by a right shoulder injury.Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins find themselves at 0-2 under first-year coach Adam Gase, despite discovering some late-game traction on offense that had been missing in their season-opening loss at Seattle.Garoppolo threw for three touchdowns in three drives before being driven hard into the ground by linebacker Kiko Alonso on a second-quarter pass play. The injury looked bad, with Garoppolo barely able to move his shoulder as he walked off the field.This game is a 100 percent injury rate, receiver Julian Edelman said. Its football and everyones just gotta do their job a little bit better.The Patriots have yet to say much about Garoppolos injury, but its possible the final two starts before Brady returns from his Deflategate suspension could fall to rookie Jacoby Brissett. Theyll have to figure it out in a hurry before Thursday nights matchup with the Texans.Other observations from Dolphins-Patriots:RESILIENT DOLPHINS: The Dolphins dug out of a 31-3 hole with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. They had a chance to tie in the closing seconds before Ryan Tannehill was intercepted in the end zone.Tannehill , 0-5 against the Patriots in Foxborough, believed they can build on that this week as they head home to host Cleveland after two road losses.He said it starts with not overthinking things.Just make the plays that are there, Tannehill said. We had some opportunities. ... We just have to make those plays early in the game and I have confidence in those guys that we will get it done.HISTORICAL REFERENCE: New England last had to make an injury-related adjustment at quarterback in 2008 when Brady suffered a knee injury in the Patriots opener. With backup Matt Cassel, the Patriots went 11-5, but failed to make the playoffs.The downtime without Brady this time will be much shorter, but the minddset for the Patriots is pretty much the same as it was then.dddddddddddd Edelman said the same work put in getting on the same page with Garoppolo must now transfer to Brissett.Its always frustrating to lose any player on any position. Unfortunately thats part of this game, Edelman said.BRISSETTS CONFIDENCE: Brissett didnt seem consumed by the moment with Garoppolo going down.After the defense forced a fumble, he led New England on its final scoring drive, a five-play, 68-yard series that gave the Patriots a 31-10 cushion.The guys did a good job of staying calm, he said. When the opportunity comes, you gotta be ready for it.STARTING SLOWLY: The Dolphins limited New England to a single second-half touchdown, which probably had a lot to do with Garoppolo getting knocked out of the game. But that doesnt fully explain why the Miami offense started clicking after halftime -- a little too late.After getting two first downs and 34 net yards on five possessions that ended in four punts and a fumble, the Dolphins began to move at the same time the Patriots began to struggle. A 77-yard drive led to a field goal at the end of the second quarter, and Miami also drove to touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second half.I need to figure out a way to get our guys in rhythm earlier, Gase said. The second half of us being able to get up on the ball and go, get completions and run the ball, those types of things . thats what we need to do in the first half.RETURNING RECEIVER: The return of DeVante Parker gave the Dolphins offense a boost. The Miami receiver made his 2016 debut after missing the opener with a hamstring injury. Parker caught eight passes for 106 yards against the Patriots.DeVantes a great football player, Tannehill said. You see some of the plays he made -- the one handed catch on the takeoff -- so were just scratching the surface with him. Hes going to be a big-time player for us. We just have to keep him healthy and on the field.Parker had five catches for 106 yards and a touchdown in a season-ending victory over New England on Jan. 3.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower ' ' '