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Cronulla made light of adversity to hold off a late Warriors fight-back and close out an 18-14 win that consolidates their position in the NRL top eight.
With five-eighth Todd Carney and returning skipper Paul Gallen leading the way, the Sharks lifted themselves to fifth on the ladder.
Coach Shane Flanagan came away from Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium content with what he had seen.
“I was happy with a lot of things,” he said.
“I was happy with the two points, happy with the way we played. We had some tough circumstances there.”
Flanagan said Warriors-bound second rower Jayson Bukuya had been unwell with flu all week and had to be replaced early.
The Sharks also had centre Ben Pomeroy stretchered off after he smacked his head on the ground in the tackle as he provided the pass for winger Nathan Stapleton’s decisive try in the 47th minute.
Flanagan said Pomeroy was feeling fine after the match, but would be monitored to see if he would be available to face Newcastle next weekend.
Gallen was in action for the first time since picking up a foot injury in State of Origin 2 and was an influential figure at lock.
“The body’s fine,” he said.
“I didn’t feel as fit as I normally do. I’m probably carrying a couple more kilos than I would like to, but in all I was pretty happy with my first game back.”
For the Warriors, the defeat was just their second in nine matches, but it meant they spurned the chance to get into the top eight for the first time this year.
The home side paid for their lack of polish in execution at vital times, but they did manage to set up a grandstand finish with two late tries.
Centre Konrad Hurrell got the first with 11 minutes to go when he barged over after the Warriors’ best attack of the game.
Winger Manu Vatuvei chimed in with his second of the night five minutes later after he hauled in a Shaun Johnson bomb.
Johnson’s conversion cut the margin to four points and the five-eighth then made a big break, but his pass to an unmarked Hurrell was wayward.
Coach Matthew Elliott lamented what he saw as an overall lack of energy from his side.
He pointed to the difference in the teams’ ruck speed as an indicator of that.
He also said the amount of Warriors passes that hit the ground and the number of dropped balls showed a lack of concentration.
“It’s like any occupation,” he said.
“If you lack focus or get distracted, which it appears we have done this week, you don’t compete well in this competition.”
Cronulla raced to a 10-0 lead thanks to tries to centre Jonathan Wright and to Pomeroy.
The Warriors hit back when Vatuvei powered through traffic to touch down and make it a 10-4 scoreline at half-time, before Stapleton’s try extended the Sharks’ buffer.
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