It was a good day out for Cronulla’s Jersey Flegg squad as they came up with a convincing 46-18 victory to retain a top four spot against a 5th placed Rabbitohs outfit.
Though, the scoreline wasn’t telling from the beginning the cardinal and myrtle took a 12-0 lead after 15 minutes. Sticking to their game plan, Cronulla shifted the momentum in their own favour and didn’t back down for the remaining 65 minutes.
The unforgiving defence from the forward pack set the hosts up for a promising performance, which saw try doubles to Jai Camilleri, Callum Grantham and Nikora Williams.
Individually, fullback Grantham terrorised the opposition, piling on 22 points himself, converting seven from eight goals.
Out of the gates, the Rabbitohs were sharp in attack, and pressure was mounting on the home side early after giving away a penalty within the first two minutes.
South Sydney showed slick footy in the fourth minute; a perfectly placed cross-field kick allowed Taj Alvarez to soar and come down across the line. Ten minutes later, an easy crash-play saw Caelis Samuel power across for the second of the afternoon.
Caleb Cresswell added the extras to both, giving his side a 12-point advantage after 15 minutes.
The second Rabbitohs try prompted the Sharks to flick gears and up their attack. In doing so, they received their first real opportunity of the afternoon.
Within eight minutes, the Sharks had levelled the points, scoring two tries from strong attacking sets. The first try, a crash play, saw Jai Camilleri power through the defence. The next, a bullet-like cutout pass from Bryce Sait to Richard Whalebone on the right wing.
Callum Grantham converted both and brought this contest back to an even battle.
With less than two minutes to play in the half, Grantham got his own, slicing through the defence and sprinting away towards the left corner. Converting, he made it three from three.
After the break, Cronulla's momentum continued; Camilleri snatched a double as he slid over the white line. Grantham converted once again, furthering the lead to twelve points.
However, Souths hit back 43 minutes after their previous try; Hadley Smith capitalised on a penalty and got his first four-pointer.
Running riot around the visitors, the Sharks got another double in the span of four minutes. Prestyn Laine-Sietu stepped through four defenders to stride away, and Grantham was sent through a gap to mimic the same as his first.
With Grantham kicking both over the black dot, he stretched his personal tally to 20 points for the afternoon.
After proving ruthless in defence, Nikora Williams was rewarded in attack, spinning out of a defender's grasp to slam the ball down with 9 minutes remaining.
They weren’t done yet, though; taking advantage of a fatigued South Sydney, Williams was able to get a second for himself, which Grantham converted to make it 46-18 on full-time.
The Sharks will have to back up this strong win with another promising performance as they take on the first-placed Dragons next Sunday at Collegians Sporting Complex, Wollongong.
