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They might not have any players, but the Dogs have a lot of heart. They went down fighting to the Sharks, losing 33-20 in the end to a Will Kennedy hat trick and a couple of pieces of Nicho Hynes magic.
For his part, the reigning Dally M Medallist is making an Origin case that Brad Fittler simply cannot ignore. If there’s any intention of picking on form, Nicho is in at 6. You can add another two try assists to the year’s total, plus another perfect night off the tee.
“He’s ready,” declared Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon. “I’ve said it a few time that it’s not up to me to select the team but I think he’s ready and can handle it. He’s fearless.
“Sometimes a bit too fearless and I wish he’d rein it in a little bit, but he’s fearless in the way he plays in big moments. Big occasions don’t scare him and it’s Origin. You might not get an opportunity in Origin, but if it comes, he’s going to take it.”
Canterbury are in the middle of one of the worst injury crises in recent memory, with nine first graders out, and were always long shots against a Sharkies team that is finally finding form.
While that was how it played out in the end, with Cronulla coming home strong in the second half after being repeatedly dragged back in by the Dogs.
The big move from Canterbury had been to swap the roles of Kyle Flanagan and Matt Burton, which was a qualified success. They’ll get to go again next week against the Dragons, where their new order might get more space to work in.
“We tried hard but we killed ourselves at times against a team that’s very good,” said Cameron Ciraldo. “You can’t give them opportunities like that.
“We started both halves poorly and got outcompeted a number of times and were made to pay for it. It’s disappointing in that regard but very happy with how we hang in there. We try hard but we don’t know when to go after a game with and without the ball.”
Before today, the Sharks had failed to string two wins together. Their attacking levels have never been questioned and were spectacular at times again, but the defence has been fairly suspect at times. Not today.
The seam between edge and middle has been a considerable weak point, and while it didn’t look great for Corey Waddell’s second half try, it was notably better.
Teig Wilton in particular sent in some jarring shots and Hynes added to his Origin case with two trysavers. Briton Nikora, too, pulled off a belter on Burton only for Dec Casey to score on the next play.
The goalline D has been a major issue this year, but wasn’t readily tested by a Dogs side that failed to accumulate pressure. Canterbury did manage to put on plenty of attack from range and the desperation was clearly there to meet them.
They’ll get tougher tests than this, but the early signs are there that the weakest part of Cronulla’s game is picking up.
If the defence can be better, they’ll have plenty of attack. This was the fourth time in eight rounds that they’ve topped 30 points and they’re currently top of the comp for line breaks.
Nicho has picked up seamlessly from last year, Nikora has matured into one of the best strike backrowers around and Kennedy has exploded in the last month.
In wins against the Roosters and Eels, they have shown their ability to mix it with the best, and this result was never in doubt.
Last year, the Sharks were able to exploit a lack of Origin players and a soft draw, but were ultimately undone by an ability to defend with the very best, conceding over 30 points in both of their Finals games.
Defeating a depleted Bulldogs team won’t go too far towards calming doubts that they are just in that tier below the very best, but the way that they tackled against a side that threw plenty at them should give fans confidence.
The Dogs were their own worst enemy at times, dropping far too much footy to stand a chance of winning. When they did hang onto the ball, there was definitely something brewing.
All the talk about ‘simplifying his game’ in the 6 jumper seemed to have worked, with Flanagan running his first possession and keeping the theme for the rest of the game.
Burton was installed at first receiver and played both sides of the field, rather than his usual preference for the left edge, which did plenty for his level of involvement in the game. His running was way down, but still had enough in it to create a try and threaten the line.
“I thought we looked dangerous every time Matt ran the ball,” said Ciraldo. “We’re still a work in progress there. The spine’s played eight games together now and they’re still trying to work it out. It was an improvement on the last couple of weeks.
“(Kyle) saw opportunities to run and play what he saw. We just want him to hold up that right edge and feed the ball to guys like Averillo and give him opportunities. I thought at times we did that and got a try off it in the first half. I thought Kyle simplified his game and I was happy that he’s running the ball.”
Both the Dogs’ first half efforts told that story. They were fairly standard backline moves that resulted in tries for the wingers, but they’re the sort of try that Canterbury don’t readily score.
Some teams – today’s opponents perhaps being the best example – love to hit to their wingers, but that hasn’t always been the case for this edition of the Bulldogs, who used Burton as a creative spark on the inside and spread wide through Reed Mahoney’s long pass.
With Burton operating on both sides of the field and Flanagan actually running the ball, the Sharks’ defence was forced to compress, creating space on the edges. Jake Averillo and Hayze Perham showed great hands to get their men over, but they were afforded the room by the work inside.
It’s hard to get a read on a side that is missing so many players and were well beaten by a side in red hot form, but there was a green shoot there that Ciraldo could do well to nurture.
If you feel for Dylan Edwards in his perma-exclusion from rep footy, then what of Will Kennedy?
In a normal time, you’d be talking the Sharks fullback up for rep honours, but the Bathurst native would be third in line even for Country Origin – behind Edwards and Latrell Mitchell – and he’s nowhere near a New South Wales jersey.
Kennedy is right up there with the very best in the NRL on this form and was far too good for the Dogs.
His first half triple had all of his best skills: there was a superb support run for the first, a leaping catch for the second that left Perham flat-footed and a classic fullback’s shape run to complete the set.
The tries are the standout, of course, but there’s all the other stuff too. Kennedy topped the metre count, was flawless under the high ball and added a smart pass for Ronaldo Mulitalo, who robbed his fullback of a try assist by putting his hand into touch under no pressure.
Fitzgibbon focussed on his all round game rather than the tries.
“(I was impressed by) some of the other stuff he did when they were coming back in the game, defusing those bombs and got his defensive line organised,” he said.
“He kept turning up. You probably don’t notice him chasing kicks and making tackles downfield. He’s everywhere.”