On a night of celebrations, one which included Niwhai Puru on debut, Cameron McInnes playing his 100th Sharks game, with the Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy up for grabs and in what was the Sharks Mental Fitness Round, it was only fitting the Cronulla side would emerge victorious.
The Sharks came out firing and set themselves up for a victory with a dominant first half, before going on with the job in scoring a 28-22 victory over a Manly side sitting fourth on the NRL ladder coming into the match.
Not all things were to there to celebrate on the night however, with co-captain Blayke Brailey exiting the field in the second half with a fractured arm, a heartbreaking injury following his electric origin debut just two nights prior.
While the Sharks were seemingly always in control, a late comeback from Manly threatened to spoil the party, however the resurgence from the Sea Eagles wasn’t enough to overcome the first half deficit as the home team held on for the win.
Opening the match, a penalty to the Sharks within the opening minutes allowed them to gain positive field position, then another penalty in front of the posts saw Braydon Trindall open the scoring with a penalty goal to put his side up by two.
Minutes later, it was a dream NRL debut for half back Puru, who pushed in support of a Brailey line break before sprinting 30 metres to score adjacent to the posts. Trindall added the extras, giving the Sharks an 8-0 lead.
A series of six again calls then had the Sharks defending their line for successive sets and it wasn’t long before Manly were able to open their account, fullback Clayton Faulalo slicing through to add his name to the try scorers list. Reuben Garrick was unable to convert and the Sea Eagles trailed by four.
Multiple repeat set restarts then went the way of the Sharks, allowing them to travel downfield, Trindall forced a dropout, then capitalising on their field position second rower Teig Wilton showed clever footwork to step through the defensive line before diving over to the left of the posts. Trindall slotted the goal and 33 minutes into the match the Sharks led 14-4.
The Sharks went back on the attack and soon after a perfect cross-field kick from Trindall saw Billy Burns in the right place at the right time, the back rower going over for a very well deserved try. On the stroke of half time it was the same combination, a Trindall kick for a Burns try which sent the Sharks to half time with a commanding 22-4 lead.
Coming out after the break, it was Manly second rower Ben Trbojecvic who powered over to narrow the margin, with Garrick converting and it was 22-10 Sharks.
The Sharks responded, a fired-up defence forced a Sea Eagles error, tackling their opposition into touch 20 metres from the line and again it was that man Trindall, the five eighth recognising a disjoined defensive line and slicing through to score a try of his own. His conversion attempt from close range was pulled to the left of the posts but the Sharks had some breathing room again at 26-10.
Soon after Brailey was forced from the field and was unable to return and sensing an opportunity a floating bomb from Jamal Fogarty was let bounce, with Jason Saab the recipient of the perfect bounce as he strolled over in the south-western corner of Ocean Protect Stadium.
Manly would then put a scare through the 11,000 crowd in scoring again on their following set, Luke Brookes making a line break down the left, his pass inside was knocked down and a kick and chase saw Fogarty win the race to score.
Garrick converted both tries and with only four points between the teams at 26-22 it was anyone’s ballgame.
The Sharks showed grit and resilience in the absence of their hooker and captain, going six ahead with a Mawene Hiroti penalty goal inside the final five minutes of the match.
Manly showed desperation, spreading the ball wide on two occasions, but two huge defensive plays from winger Sam Stonestreet, twice tackling Saab into touch, would seal the result.
The win, the Sharks sixth of the season, saw them move inside the top eight with 16 competition points, with their next assignment a game against the Dragons at Ocean Protect Stadium on Sunday.
