Sharks score six to power past Tigers in Tamworth

A dominant opening 40 minutes in Tamworth set the Sharks up for a 36-12 victory over the Wests Tigers on Saturday, which keeps them comfortably inside the NRL top four. 

The Cronulla forward pack had a field day through the middle, with props Royce Hunt and Braden Hamlin-Uele getting over for tries and Cameron McInnes putting in a huge shift from the interchange, running for 138 metres and making 36 tackles in his 59 minutes on the field. 

Cronulla scored four converted tries and kicked a penalty to lead 26-6 at the break, but while they were in control for most of the match at Scully Park, they never managed to fully shake off their stubborn opponents. 

Four-pointers to Lachlan Miller and Matt Ikuvalu, which were both converted by Nicho Hynes, saw the Sharks score more than a point a minute through the first 10. 

Fa'amanu Brown did hit back minutes later, but his effort was quickly cancelled out Hunt's try and Kade Dykes getting over for the first of his NRL career. 

Hamlin-Uele scored 12 minutes into the second stanza, before the Tigers hit back with nice try to second-rower Luke Garner.

A dropped ball coming out of their own end saw the Wests Tigers gift Cronulla field position which they turned into a Jesse Ramien try, with Hynes missing his first kick of the night on the ensuing conversion.

Even with Teig Wilton spending 10 minutes in the bin late on, the Sharks held on for a victory which leaves them in third place on the ladder, now trailing the second-placed Cowboys only on differential. 

Match snapshot

• Sharks prop Toby Rudolf left the field with 15 minutes left in the match with a right knee injury and failed to return. 
• Teig Wilton was sent to the sin bin late in the match for a tackle off the ball.
• The Wests Tigers completed just 61 percent of their sets in the loss, making 13 handling errors. 
• In addition to scoring his first NRL try, rookie Cronulla fullback Kade Dykes had 10 runs for 125 metres and two tackle breaks. 
• Cronulla are now even on 32 competition points with the second-placed Cowboys, trailing them only on points differential.
• The Sharks have now won nine of their last 10 NRL games against the Wests Tigers

Play of the game

An emotional moment for the third-generation Shark, whose dad Adam and grandfather John also played for the club, as he got over for his first try in the NRL. A break down the right wing saw Lachlan Miller drill an accurate grubber back through the middle where Dykes was right on the spot to scoop it up and score. 

What they said 

"We lost it the first half... we were doing yardage sets for quite a bit of the first half. It was 26-6 at half-time and the game was over effectively, against a good quality side. We are battling at the moment... we were good the second half." - Wests Tigers coach Brett Kimmorley.

"I thought everyone fulfilled their role quite well and a strong performance for the most part... I thought the guys in their role, everyone executed their roles. Attitude was good and for the most part performance was good." - Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon.

What's next

Both sides have a seven-day turnaround, with the Wests Tigers facing the in-form Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday night, directly after the Sharks travel to 4 Pines Park to play the Sea Eagles.