Madimack 'Power Players' - Round 4

Cronulla savaged local rivals St George Illawarra with a dominant 40-8 win in the first local derby of 2023. There were plenty of performances worth noting in the clash, but our Madimack ‘Power Players’ of the round were a cut above.

Nicho Hynes

Reigning Dally M Medallist Nicho Hynes certainly picked up right where he left off in his first regular season match of 2023.

Hynes tore the Dragons apart in a performance that confirmed Cronulla’s cautious approach to his calf injury was the right move.

Despite leaving the field early for a well-earned rest, Hynes finished with an enormous stat line. Five line break assists, three try assists, three tackle breaks and 148 metres made for good reading.

Hynes calming influence, vision and deft touch, showing not only the influence he can have on this Shark’s side but the potential they have to make a genuine tilt at the Premiership title.

Siosifa Talakai

Every week big Siosifa Talakai clocks up enormous metres, so far averaging over 160 per game to start the season. But it wasn’t necessarily his metreage that caught our attention in the derby.

Instead, it was Talakai’s ability to keep the Dragons defence on the back foot, not knowing if he was going to barnstorm his way through the line or hand it off to his outside man in Mulitalo.

Talakai finished the night with 126 metres to his name, with 43 post-contact metres, two line break assists and two try assists. He also made 12 tackles and kicked a penalty goal late to send the Sharks out to 40 points.

Somewhat of a quiet achiever, Sharks fans will look to Sifa to continue chipping away at those metres and making his tackles, with his tough carries and jarring defence a staple in his performances.

Toby Rudolf

Fresh off raising over $40,000 for The Leukemia Foundation, Toby Rudolf has been just as solid in his performances on the field.

In Sunday night’s local derby Rudolf banged out 51-minutes that saw him end with 109 metres, 29 post-contact metres, four tackle breaks, one line break and 26 tackles.

Rudolf’s extra efforts in both attack and defence have been a mainstay to start the season, with the big man leaving it all on the field and doing whatever it takes to give his side an edge over the opening four rounds.

Against a big Warriors pack at home on Sunday, the Sharks forwards will need to be on their game, with Toby a crucial piece of the puzzle that will lay the platform for his halves.

Ronaldo Mulitalo

Shark’s fans have become accustomed to the big moments in matches that Ronaldo Mulitalo produces, and over the opening four rounds he hasn’t disappointed.

The derby clash was another example of what Mulitalo can muster when given half a chance, with the in-form winger scoring a double and showing off his pace to outrun the defence and let off a deft kick back inside for a chasing Kennedy, who ran in to score his fifth try of the season.

The passion and pride Ronaldo has in the jersey can be seen every time he crosses the try line, and Sharks fans will be hoping his strong carries to start sets and his try-scoring form continues on Sunday afternoon in the Shire.

The Sharks vs Warriors clash on Sunday afternoon at PointsBet Stadium is scheduled for  4:05PM kick off. With another sell-out on the cards, secure your tickets today to ensure you don’t miss out!