Sharks edged out by Tigers in golden-point classic

The packed Leichhardt crowd was sent into raptures in the ninth minute when five-eighth Lachlan Galvin offloaded to set up back-rower Samuela Fainu for the opening try. Doueihi couldn't convert in windy conditions from out wide.

The Sharks threatened with the ball in response, Dally M-leading fullback Will Kennedy looking especially lively, but errors cruelled their scoring opportunities.

With a heavy run of possession, the Tigers broke through for their second try in the 26th minute as winger Sunia Turuva crossed in the right corner after classy lead-up work by centre Starford To'a. Doueihi added the extras for a 10-0 lead.

Interchange forwards Hazelton and Siosifa Talakai did their best to flip the momentum for Cronulla when they entered the fray, but with a stiff breeze behind them the Tigers continually rolled downfield and poured on the pressure.

After sticking firm in defence, the Sharks pulled off a sensational long-range four-pointer on the cusp of half-time to storm back into the contest.

A slick right-edge raid resulted in Jesse Ramien offloading back inside to Kennedy, who found halfback Nicho Hynes to keep the play alive. The scheming playmaker threw a crisp pass to Ronaldo Mulitalo, the flying flanker putting on the afterburners and tearing through desperate defenders to score under the posts.

Hynes' conversion made it 10-6 at the break, a decent outcome for Cronulla given they had only 45% of possession and completed an extra 46 tackles.

But the joy was short-lived for the visitors. Second-rower Briton Nikora was sin-binned early in the second stanza for a high shot on Tigers half Jarome Luai, allowing Doueihi to boot a penalty goal and stretch the margin to a converted try.

An opportunistic try to bench dummy-half Tallyn Da Silva after a bomb was allowed to bounce in the ensuing set gave the Tigers an imposing 12-point buffer.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Sharks fired back against the run of play with some razzle dazzle of their own. Hynes dished a bullet pass to Mulitalo on the left edge, with the winger boldly grubbering inside. Second-rower Burns swooped on the ball, coolly drew the fullback and sent Kennedy away for an important try.

Mulitalo nearly had a double in the 63rd minute, but the Kiwi international fumbled as he attempted to reach the line. Fortunately, another chance was soon to come.

The door swung open for Cronulla when Tigers prop Fonua Pole was sin-binned for high contact on Hazelton in the 64th minute. Burns subsequently crashed over, and with Hynes nailing the goal, the Sharks had clawed their way back to level.

Hynes loomed as the hero as he launched a long-range field-goal attempt, but his radar was off by inches, the ball clattering into the upright and bouncing away.

Cronulla's No.7 had another shot in the final minute, and while the Tigers clung on with a charge down, the Sharks collected the rebound and appeared destined to win with four points rather than one a few plays later with an overlap to the left.

But makeshift centre Daniel Atkinson was stopped short of the line as the Tigers' defence forced a last-gasp error to push the game into over-time.

The Tigers had first use of the footy as golden point kicked off, but Hynes and Hazelton combined to jolt the ball free and crucially earn possession.

Hynes' third field-goal attempt was charged down by Jahream Bula, with the Tigers then winning a scrum on halfway due to a Kennedy knock-on.

After turning down a penalty goal shot just outside the 40-metre line, the Tigers failed to ice a one-pointer via Doueihi Braydon Trindall then stepped up for the Sharks, however the five-eighth couldn't land a drop-goal either.

Ultimately, Doueihi seized the chance to redeem himself off the tee, leaving the Sharks needing to bounce back on a five-day turnaround against the Eels at Magic Round on Friday night.