Sharks outgunned by Dolphins in home loss

The final score didn't quite reflect what had been a tight contest for the most part, with three Dolphins tries in the final 10 minutes blowing out the margin.

Even so, Cronulla were slightly off the pace and didn't lead at any stage as the Dolphins claimed the upper hand with their speed and second-phase play.

Having trailed 16-4 after conceding a costly four-pointer on the stroke of half-time, the Sharks closed the gap to a converted try when 100th gamer Braydon Trindall jinked his way across the line in the 48th minute. 

Inspired by hard-charging interchange forwards Toby Rudolf and Sifa Talakai, Cronulla began to regain momentum. However, the Dolphins steadied the ship with back-to-back penalty goals before streaking clear at the death.

After an intense start, the Dolphins struck in the 19th minute off the back of a fortuitous repeat set. The visitors whisked the ball to their right edge, where centre Jake Averillo waltzed over after duping the defence with a clever dummy.

The Sharks responded in the 26th minute when halfback Nicho Hynes delivered a perfect long pass to flying winger Sam Stonestreet, who used his sizzling pace and guile to cross in the corner. Hynes struck the upright with his conversion.

Dolphins playmaker Isaiya Katoa saw Hynes' effort and raised it, setting up his team's second try with a slick cut-out ball to winger Jamayne Isaako.

In the shadows of half-time, the Dolphins landed another haymaker as electric duo Herbie Farnworth and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow combined to score under the posts.

Down by 12 at the break, a fast start was imperative for Cronulla. They quickly applied the pressure, knocking down the door through the middle as Rudolf and Talakai made it their mission to skittle defenders like bowling pins.

Milestone man Trindall then proved a popular try-scorer, the five-eighth refusing to be denied as he carried multiple Dolphins over the stripe.

The newfound momentum was somewhat quelled when Sharks co-captain Blayke Brailey found himself on report for an alleged trip on Tabuai-Fidow. Isaako took the opportunity to boot a penalty goal, stretching the Dolphins' lead to 18-10.

Stonestreet came within a whisker of snaring a double when he soared high to snaffle a cross-field kick before being held up by the desperate Dolphins. It was a pivotal moment – another penalty goal soon put the away side up by 10 points.

It unravelled from there for the Sharks, with Averillo pushing the result beyond doubt when he pounced on a KL Iro error and dashed away. Selwyn Cobbo and Connelly Lemuelu went over in the final minutes to inflict more pain.

Cronulla will look to rebound strongly when they travel to Canberra to face Ricky Stuart's Raiders on Sunday afternoon in a crucial clash.