Cronulla have kept themselves in the NRL’s top 4 after a 32-16 victory over Souths to celebrate Member Appreciation Round and make Siosifa Talakai’s 150th milestone one to remember.
The Sharks halves were again incredible with Braydon Trindall maintaining his lead as the NRL's top try assister, adding 3 more today, taking him to 29 for the season, while Nicho Hynes broke Cronulla's record for most consecutive goal kicks, extending it to 32 straight, to go with a 40/20 and a try assist of his own.
Ronaldo Mulitalo became the equal second greatest try scorer for the club, joining the legendary David Peachey on 110 Cronulla tries. Funnily enough, it was the Sharks' round 10 loss to the Rabbitohs which sparked their run, winning 9 of 10 games since then.
South Sydney threw the first shot of the game with Matt Dufty unlocking Campbell Graham down the right sideline from inside their own half, before the winger passed back inside to Dufty 10 metres out from the Sharks tryline but was cut down by a brilliant cover tackle from Nicho Hynes.
The perfect cover tackle
The next play, Souths sent the ball from the right side to the left, where Cody Walker caught out the recovering defence and put Latrell Siegwalt in for the first try of the game, which was converted to make it 6-nil after 7 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for Cronulla; Teig Wilton was sin-binned soon after for a high shot, but another Hynes try-saver on Walker kept the Bunnies out.
That helped swing momentum in the Sharks' favour, as they saw out the remainder of Wilton’s time in the bin without any damage.
Just as it returned to 13 on 13, Braydon Trindall, who has the most try assists in the NRL this season, set up Briton Nikora with a clever bit of ball play, as the recent Origin backrower barged over.
Briton Nikora Try
Minutes later, Trindall extended his assist tally to two for the afternoon when Ronaldo Mulitalo superbly tapped back a Tricky kick, which landed perfectly for milestone man Siosifa Talakai to dive over.
His 32nd try in 150 games and his first against his old club Souths, met with a huge celebration from his teammates. Nicho Hynes added the extras to equal Luke Covell’s Sharks record of 28 straight conversions, set 20 years ago, to make it 12-6 in Cronulla’s favour.
Siosifa Talakai Try
The Sharks found themselves in an attacking position again when Mulitalo was tackled in the air by his opposing winger while close to the Bunnies line. Then Addin Fonua-Blake and Blayke Brailey’s combination was on show again. Off the back of a barnstorming Fonua-Blake run and quick play the ball, Cronulla’s number 9 expertly scooted out of dummy half and sliced through the defence to score with 4 minutes left in the half.
Blayke Brailey Try
Hynes, from 10 metres to the left of the posts, converted his 29th straight conversion to give his side an 18-6 lead and claim the club’s most consecutive conversions record.
The Sharks thought they had the first try of the second half when Jesse Ramien collected a dropped ball and strolled over, but a knock-on was found in the lead-up.
Instead, the Rabbitohs would score the first of the half, Cody Walker setting up Graham down the right wing, and Siegwalt converted to make it a 6-point ball game.
Cronulla quickly got back on top though, and on their next chance Fonua-Blake barreled his way over, thanks to another perfect pass from Trindall. Hynes would kick that goal, and then a penalty goal minutes later to give the Sharks a 14-point buffer.
Addin Fonua-Blake Try
Not long after, Hynes nearly set up another when he broke through a gap in the defence, but Rabbitohs players did well to block his passing options, and he was tackled by the fullback. The Sharks would turn it over the next play, and it would go end to end again in the space of a minute with Matt Dufty cutting through. He held up the ball in an attempt to draw in Will Kennedy before passing to Jai Gray, but the Sharks number 1 would miraculously turn and chase Gray down near the try line.
Kennedy saves a try
Cronulla’s fitness was then put to the test as every player sprinted on side and defended like their lives depended on it, and they’d hold on impressively, keeping the Rabbitohs out again with 20 minutes left in the contest.
Another record would follow, after a brilliant kick return from Mulitalo gave the Sharks a full set in Souths territory. The winger would then finish off the set by scoring in the corner, thanks to a classic Hynes long ball, handing Mulitalo his 110th try to equal Sharks legend David Peachey as the second greatest for the club.
Ronaldo Mulitalo Try
Then his great mate on the other wing, Sione Katoa, thought he had a tremendous try in the right corner, but the replay showed he planted the ball on a Rabbit toe and didn’t fully ground it.
Souths ran in a consolation try with only a few minutes left to make it 32-16, and it would remain that score as the siren sounded.
That result keeps Cronulla in 4th on the ladder, on the same number of points as the Warriors, and two points ahead of the Dolphins.
The Sharks now turn their attention to the Dragons derby in Kogarah next Sunday afternoon.
