A first half packed with breathtaking attacking highlights propelled Cronulla to a comfortable 27-10 win over South Sydney at a sold-out Sharks Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Sharks wowed the capacity crowd with four tries – including a scintillating length-of-the-field effort – and some near misses in the opening 40 minutes.
Match: Sharks v Rabbitohs
Round 3 -
home Team
Sharks
6th Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
11th Position
Venue: Sharks Stadium, Sydney
In a match with many standouts, halves Braydon Trindall (two 40/20s, one try, one try assist, one field goal) and Nicho Hynes (one try, one try assist, two line-break assists) left their mark.
The electric wing-centre combination of Ronaldo Mulitalo and Kayal Iro gave South Sydney's right edge nightmares as they clocked up more than 450 metres between them, while fullback Will Kennedy also continued his impressive vein of form with a sensational try and 186 metres. Addin Fonua-Blake and Cameron McInnes were arguably the pick of the forwards.
The only dampener was injuries to Braden Hamlin-Uele and Siosifa Talakai, who both limped from the field. Hooker Blayke Brailey sustained a corked leg but is expected to be fine for next week's clash with Canterbury.
The Sharks shot out of the blocks with Hynes registering his first try of the season with a show-and-go on the right edge four minutes into the action.
Hynes turned provider for Cronulla's second four-pointer, delivering a beautiful flat pass to his trusted hole-runner Briton Nikora. The playmaker's conversion from in front gave the Sharks a 10-0 lead after just nine minutes.
Mikaele Ravalawa almost responded with a try on Rabbitohs debut, but committed cover defence from Mulitalo denied his opposite winger a classic try with his boot grazing the touchline before he planted the ball.
The Sharks produced a try-of-the-year contender to extend the lead in the 20th minute, going from end to end to send the jubilant crowd into raptures.
Fielding a kick, Mulitalo did tremendously well to escape from his in-goal area before offloading to Kennedy, who in turn linked with Iro. The Cook Islands international stepped Ravalawa and bolted the best part of 90 metres to score.
Flyer Sam Stonestreet nearly topped that play with a sublime solo effort, coming within centimetres of grounding the ball with his body suspended over the sideline.
The Sharks again ripped apart South Sydney's right edge on a kick return for their fourth try of the afternoon. The play started shakily with Stonestreet's long ball hitting the deck, but Kennedy scooped it up and quickly put Mulitalo into space.
In a thrilling sequence, the Kiwi star linked with Iro, who this time didn't have the legs to go all the way and tossed the ball inside for Mulitalo to pick it up and connect with Hynes. The No.7 propped off his right foot and gave the Steeden back to Mulitalo, who delivered the pass for Kennedy to finish what he started.
After going into the sheds ahead 20-0, there was no immediate half-time hangover for the Sharks with Hynes and Mulitalo combining for another break. On the back of that, Trindall etched his name on the scoresheet with a drifting run to the corner.
Souths claimed their first try when Jack Wighton won the race to a Cody Walker kick in the 68th minute, with Jamie Humphreys adding another shortly after.
Trindall rounded out Cronulla's victory with a 79th-minute field goal.
The Sharks are back at home next week against the Bulldogs, with kick-off scheduled for 7.35pm. CLICK HERE to secure a ticket.
