A Gerard Beale try in the dying moments, courtesy of a Jack Bird off-load has seen the Sharks make it two-from-two at the NRL Nines with a 17-8 victory over the St George Illawarra Dragons.
The Sharks defended grimly for periods of the second half, with a last-ditch Chad Townsend try-saving tackle the game changer, before the touch of brilliance from Bird which resulted in the Beale try sealed the win.
The Sharks were first on the board when Chad Townsend finished off a clever backline move, converted by Bird before the Dragons bounced back when Euan Aitken scored the first of his two tries to bridge the gap to just two.
That narrow advantage would extend to six points, this time courtesy of a long-range effort from Ben Barba, the exciting Sharks utility showing he has lost none of his speed in dashing 65-metres to touch down.
Aitken's second try made it 10-8 at the break and it took until the final minute of the match before the Beale five-pointer and subsequent conversion completed the scoring.
After two games the Sharks lead their group with two wins, with the other three sides set to do battle for the second available finals berth.
The Sharks play their final pool match at 1.30pm tomorrow local time (11.30am Sydney time) before the finals get underway at 1.55pm (NZ time).
SHARKS 17
Ben Barba, Chad Townsend, Gerard Beale (5-pointer) tries, Bird, Beale goals
beat
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 8
