Round 16, 2011: The Sharks travelled north to Robina to take on the Titans in an important clash on the Gold Coast.
Having never defeated the Titans away from Remondis Stadium, Cronulla sealed a convincing 36-12 victory, with Paul Gallen, Nathan Gardner and Nathan Stapleton all grabbing two tries apiece.
Starting the season in the colours of the Coast, Sam Tagataese made a mid-season switch to the Shire and made his debut for the Sharks in the round prior to the Titans clash.
The next week – and in just his second game in the black, white and blue – Tagataese would come up against his old side, and back at Skilled Park, in what he described as a “weird experience”.
“Obviously you play against your mates all the time, and I knew what that feeling was,” Tagataese said.
“But in such a short amount of time, training with the boys for only two or three weeks, it was different. It was a bit daunting.
“After I touched the ball once, obviously that went away. I just got on with the job.”
Sharks skipper Gallen crossed for two decisive tries that night – the last time he scored a double in the NRL – and while the Captain won’t be on hand again this week, Tagataese is confident the squad can cover his loss.
“We do miss his presence and his leadership, especially on the field,” said Tagataese.
“We’ve lacked some go forward and some aggression, but whoever comes in has to do the job.
“We’ve had a good week at training, and hopefully we can take those good sessions into Saturday arvo and pull out a good performance.”
