No Shaun Johnson, Chad Townsend or Matt Moylan in the lineup and yet Connor Tracey who has played 13 games, Braydon Trindall who has played three games and Will Kennedy who has played 13 games demolished the Cowboys 28-12.
Michael Morgan is set to miss at least two weeks with a calf injury he sustained in the opening 14 minutes and Scott Drinkwater injured his ankle but ended up playing the full 80 minutes.
Will Kennedy needs to be playing fullback week in and week out because the way he has been playing this year has been extraordinary for the Sharks.
Kennedy finished the game with two try assists, ran for over 110 metres and had one tackle-break, one linebreak and one linebreak assists while Tracey finished the game with one try and Trindall ended up with one try assist.
Tracey was very strong in defence by making 24 tackles for 0 misses and the Sharks’ starting forward pack only missed two tackles between the five of them which is incredible considering who they’re missing.
Siosifa Talakai came off the bench and played in Jesse Ramien’s centre position after Ramien suffering what looks like a swollen eye but Talakai has been one of the best and most consistent for the Sharks, and tonight was no different after he scored a try and ran for over 150 metres.
The Cowboys missed Jason Taumalolo tonight and even with Josh McGuire filling into the lock position he just couldn’t make the numbers Taumalolo does and that is understandable considering Taumalolo’s talent.
Kyle Feldt just keeps scoring tries for the Cowboys after banking two more tries against the Sharks but that couldn’t save the them from being embarrassed on attack and defence so here are the numbers for the Cowboys.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
The Cowboys only completed at 69%, they made one linebreak, missed over double the number of tackles the Sharks did with 38 and made 12 errors.
Kennedy played his best game for the Sharks in his young career and Trindall really managed the Sharks around the park very well while Tracey played his part.
The Cowboys to me just look lost and bored after but losing nine games in a row, the Cowboys are certainly in a terrible state and only one man can save them from themselves.
Todd Payten, who coached the Warriors to a 36-6 win over the Knights, needs to be quickly signed by the Cowboys to really harden up their defence like he has done with the Warriors over the last two months.
The Sharks take on the Knights next week with Shaun Johnson to return from an ongoing calf injury while the Cowboys take on the Dragons, who have also suffered a loss this round against the Titans.
JVGO
Guest
Definitely a contrast in the attitude of the young guys coming through for the Sharks and those really struggling at the Broncos. Just looks like those Broncos juniors with a few exceptions (Haas, Staggs and Carrigan) have come through as superstars in superstar teams through their junior careers and never had to knuckle down to the nitty gritty. The blue collar culture at Newtown in a tough comp for young kids is great. The games and the jersey really mean something, the fans are fanatical and keep the guys honest, every victory is earned and celebrated. Sharks have a great system there and Morris is improving as a coach every week.
Landcruiser79
Guest
Use it for politicians and public servants also .... they’d all starve to death .
Tony
Roar Guru
It's all about desire and attitude Sam. Players on fat contracts get paid the same regardless of the result. I wonder how a return to the old system would go where players were paid say $X for a loss and $10X for a win?
Landcruiser79
Guest
Add to that administrators , and quality backup staff . Where would you find them all ? Ya don’t hire a mower mechanic to fix cars just because he’s got a toolbox.
Sam
Guest
Just goes to show that the excuses coming out of Brisbane don't wash. The Sharks entire spine last night had a total of less than 60 first grade games between the four players and they got the job done. In Round 12 the Sharks fielded a team with 10 of the starting 13 having played for Newtown in the past 18 months and they got the win.
Tony
Roar Guru
Your right. There seems to be an endless production line of players coming along and a rapidly shrinking pool of competent coaches. As for the Sharks, they're only making up the numbers, but any day that Kennedy is on the field, while Moylan is off the field, is a good day for the Sharks.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
After an improved showing last week I was hoping for further improvement yesterday, sadly they went backwards yet again. There seems to be no valuing the football. It's hard enough to play for 80 mins, but continually coughing the ball up and unforced dumb errors make things a hundred times harder. Kind of feel sorry for whoever puts their hand up for the coaching gig.
Landcruiser79
Guest
The cowboys have no hope. With a coach that was mumbling something about plane flights causing calf injuries, rather than owning the loss , he certainly doesn’t come across as a long term option, or even an adequate stand in. The anti expansionists talk about a lack of talent in the players pool available, well where the hell would you find another couple of coaches to head two new teams , the comp is about 4 short at the moment.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Kennedy has been a revelation,improving every game.He's starting to remind me of David Peachy - obviously not as skillful but who knows where he could end up.Bomber is really developing as a coach -dropping Moylan tough call ,but also the way he's handle Nikora -who's came back revitalised .Interesting how he handles Ronald M -good in attack but not up to NRL standard in defence.IMO he needs to revisit Wingers School and concentrate on the basics.Maybe bring in Nene or Bryson .I see Sharks major deficiency is depth in Centers/Wingers - still suffering from the loss of Xerri n Morris .As for the halves when fit -Chad/SJ/Tricky -a nice headache to have.