The Sharks left themselves too big a mountain to climb as they fell to a 42-16 defeat to the Roosters at Industree Group Stadium.
A week after beating title heavyweights Melbourne, Cronulla were almost instantly on the back foot against a young Roosters team who were missing several Origin stars but energised by two debutants and Victor Radley's 150th game.
Match: Roosters v Sharks
Round 12 -
home Team
Roosters
12th Position
away Team
Sharks
5th Position
Venue: Industree Group Stadium, Gosford
The Roosters shot to a 14-0 lead, with veteran winger Daniel Tupou outleaping Mawene Hiroti to touch down for an early double either side of a penalty goal.
Starved of possession amid a 3-0 penalty count, Cronulla's eyes lit up when Roosters rookie Benaiah Ioelu made an error deep in his own end. A few plays later, Sharks skipper Cam McInnes barrelled under the posts for a relieving try.
But the Roosters soon restored their advantage, breaking clear down their right edge before fullback James Tedesco delivered a stupendous flick pass to send young halfback Hugo Savala careering away for his second career four-pointer.
Compounding Cronulla's woes, winger Ronaldo Mulitalo was sin-binned for high contact on rival centre Mark Nawaqanitawase in the lead-up to the try.
Radley then almost added another for the Roosters in his milestone match, but the lock erred as he tried to replicate Tedesco's magic ball.
The Sharks emerged unscathed from the 10-minute period without Mulitalo, camping on the Roosters' line for several sets but failing to break through. A no try to Hiroti due to obstruction was the closest they came as the teams traded errors.
After the break, the Roosters booted further ahead with two more tries from bombs. The first came in the 49th minute, when Mulitalo fumbled and second-rower Siua Wong fed the ball to Nawaqanitawase for a simple four-pointer.
Xavier Va'a was the next beneficiary as Tupou batted the Steeden into the path of Radley, who linked with the debutant prop in a dream entrance to the field.
Cronulla breathed some life into their dwindling chances when centre KL Iro extended his try-scoring streak to nine tries in eight matches this season, running off a clever short ball from five-eighth Braydon Trindall.
With the Roosters repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot, the Sharks threw caution to the wind in attack. They eventually claimed a third try via Mulitalo, but the Tricolours had the final say with late tries to Tedesco and Dominic Young.
After a travel-heavy start to the season, Cronulla will regroup with their first bye next weekend before hosting the Warriors in Sharks Have Heart Round on June 7.
