If the Sharks were looking to make a statement, they did so. Having lost in extra time in the last year’s finals to the Cowboys, they got their revenge in style with a 44-6 carve-up that put the rest of the competition on notice.
This was the most complete performance of the season from Craig Fitzgibbon’s men, who are now on a three-match winning run after their bye.
Nicho Hynes continued his Origin audition with another heap of try assists, Will Kennedy underlined his case to be the most improved fullback of 2023 and Siosifa Talakai partied like it was Morgan Harper in front of him. In truth, the list of standouts could have been 17 names long. They were that good.
“We started strong,” said Fitzgibbon. “They came back into it physically for a bit but I thought we were strong everywhere. Everyone did their job, everyone committed to the plan we had. It was pleasing.”
Jeremiah Nanai’s hip-drop on Sharks prop Braden Hamlin-Uele has him staring down the barrel of a ban of 4-5 games after the match review committee rated it a grade-three offence.
He has already sat out two matches this year for a spear tackle, he’ll now have to decide whether he takes on the judiciary.
It was a classic hip-drop, with the back-rower losing his legs due to fatigue and his studs body swinging around, boots off the deck, onto the back of Hamlin-Uele’s knees. The Sharks prop was raging and rightly so. It’s exactly what the game is trying to get rid of.
Even before that, Nanai was a liability. He gave away multiple penalties and was spotted up in defence, with the Sharks throwing far too much at him. His lateral defence has never been too strong, but it was exposed several times tonight.
If he was put up against Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic or Haumole Olakau’atu on an edge for Queensland, the Blues would have a field day.
Scott Drinkwater is facing a fine of $1800 for dangerous contact while Coen Hess has been pinged $3000 for tripping and he is lucky he didn’t cop a heftier sanction.
It was a night to forget for the Cowboys. Nanai and Hess were both binned, for their foul play.
Chad Townsend departed with a calf injury early in the second half and Tom Chester just before the close with a potential ACL tear. He will undergo scans on return to Townsville.
Coach Todd Payten said Townsend had been struggling with niggling injuries ahead of the game and was taken off in the hope that he could recover for their next game, which is not for ten days.
The Sharks did not escape, either. Braden Hamlin-Uele was taken off with a potential MCL injury incurred in the Nanai hip-drop incident, while Briton Nikora, one of their best in 2023, suffered a bad knee clash and was withdrawn as a precaution.
“Far from pretty,” was Payten’s blunt assessment of his side’s defeat.
“We started slow on the back foot, and then spent a lot of time in our own end. We got it back into an arm wrestle just before half time but conceding one quickly after and getting two blokes in the sin bin was just too difficult.
“A lot of the tries conceded didn’t come from system breakdowns, they came from one-on-one misses. (Sione) Katoa went over in the first half and we had two shots at him. Tackling is hurting us. That was far from NRL standard tonight.”
One of the vogue phrases among NRL coaches this year has been ‘frontloading our energy’: what they mean is starting fast, especially in the middle, in the hope that they can rest later with a points buffer behind them.
It seems obvious, but for years the prevailing wisdom was to play the long game, ‘get into the arm wrestle’, ‘win the right to play’ and so on.
The two coaches who talk most about ‘frontloading’ are Jason Demetriou and Brad Arthur, the two men with the most forwards-first yardage strategy, but it’s slipped into the Craig Fitzgibbon repertoire as well. You can see why.
His side blew the doors off the Cowboys in the first 20, essentially ending the contest as a physical battle in the opening quarter.
Not only were they 20-0 to the good, they had battered their opponents. The Cowboys managed just a 12m gain on one set, after which Sione Katoa scored.
“I was saying before the game that effort has been good, but there’s been a couple of technical things that you have to keep working at,” said Fitzgibbon.
“With defence, attitude and effort underpins it but I feel like we’ve been able to sort out a few technical issues and when we honour the laws of the game, the fundamentals and errors and penalties, we can back that up with strong defence, which is what we did tonight.”
As it happened, the frontloading of effort did bite them a little towards the end of the half with a few tired tackles that lead to Tom Dearden line breaks, but it didn’t matter. The Sharks were miles ahead and the game was done.
The bashup that came late was almost inevitable by that stage. There were elements of variance that went their way, given the bounce for Jesse Ramien’s try, the horror error for Hynes’ and the errors and discipline of their opponents, but it’s one thing to be given chances and another to take them. The Sharks were ruthless.
Coen Hess getting binned for tripping summed it up. This was a night in which everything that could go wrong, did.
The Cowboys made an error on their first set and the Sharks scored. They gave away a rake of penalties and were mercilessly punished. They lost their halfback early in the second half.
Scott Drinkwater dropped a ball straight in front of Hynes, Val Holmes got scattered by Katoa and Townsend was pancaked more than once. When you’re best players are going like busteds, then what can you expect from everyone else?
Payten will have to do video on this, because they always do, but he might be excused for not wanting his players to see it again. They were never in the game. It probably would help them all to just flush it and not dwell on tonight.
When you give them space, the Sharks’ attack is the match of any in the competition. There’s the hands that were on display for several of the tries, with quick catch-pass that gets both wingers at the corner, and the ability of Will Kennedy to chime into the line on either side and ice the moment with ball-playing in both directions.
But it’s what happens before that. The Sharks, as has been covered extensively in these pages before, are one of the best around for push supports – statspeak for having runners around the footy – and it was in full effect tonight.
When you see their outside backs lined up in equal numbers to the oppositions, it’s largely because the forwards inside have kept the middle honest by providing options to the ball carrier and distractions to the defenders.
If that sounds a bit complicated, then the simple answer would simply be to put on a tape of Cronulla’s performance here. It was a masterclass in how to run small ball attack, with yardage from the backfield and forwards running over and over again, regardless of whether or not they get the footy. It’s the threat that they might that makes the difference.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
I had no opinion either way though I'd never warmed to him. I have a very strong opinion now though.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
I did have a lot of respect for Todd- he lost it last night - some of those comments were pathetic.I hope he doesn’t turn into another Robbo - looking for excuses -when the obvious is the man in the mirror
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
The Sharkies were in a mood last night unfortunately for the Cows they were just Roadkill.Few teams would have matched them ,but to be fair they did get a leg up from the Refs. I will note it has been the opposite from Refs a few times this year.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
After Nanai put Hamlyn-Uele out of the game and condemned him to weeks on the sideline with a torn medial this was Payten's reaction: “Braden jumped up pretty quickly to throw the ball at him, so it musn’t have been too bad initially.” Oh yeah. Tell it to Hamlyn-Uele and Cronulla who now have their two best props sidelined with serious injuries. He must have not seen Hamlyn-Uele helped off the field and then having to use crutches to get around. The coach of this rabble also reckoned Hess's trip was just worth a penalty. Of course he did. Then there was the elbow to Talakai's jaw. Great stuff. Delighted his lot copped a flogging - Payten's pain was great to see. As for Cronulla their backline is great to watch. Such precision and slickness - multiple threats, players in motion, superb skills with Nicho and Moylan running the orchestra like conductors. Defence was much better too but they will face much better teams than the Cows and it's an area they must keep working on.
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
Someone said it was the "most complete" performance this year from Cronulla. Agreed. The defence was much better - just a couple of Dearden breaks to worry about but still work to do - lots of it. The attack was as usual exemplary - what a great team to watch - threats everywhere. Not sure if I have ever seen a backline that is so sharp and seamless and threatening. The precision in passing and execution is superb. Having said that the Cows were dreadful. And Payten's response was pathetic. Nanai puts Hamlyn-Uele out of the game for weeks and his response is to mimimise the injury: “Braden jumped up pretty quickly to throw the ball at him, so it musn’t have been too bad initially.” Crap. He also reckons a penalty is fine for a trip. Bullshit. Of course he does - he coaches this rabble. They got what they deserved and so did he. Pity Cronulla has lost a key player for an extended period. With Rudolph on the sidelines for weeks more it's a problem for the Sharks - our two best props out of action. Plenty of players could have won the Paul Green Medal. But Nicho deserved it. And he added to his wonderful reputation after the game when he gave his jersey to Green's son and his medal to his daughter. Class act. Payten should take a leaf out of his book - or try to.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Well, Josh is working with Billy at rep level now as well and that seems to be going fair to middling.
Rob9
Roar Guru
I’ve not been that excited on the couch watching that set you’re talking about there TB since before kids roamed freely around my house! Great call from Cronk. It’s pretty magic and helps put that wedge in the defences' mind where usually a big body in little space has one option- catch and grind. Not so with Sifa.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Sharks attack always looks good but agree their defence was a highlight last night What about the set where Feldt fielded a kick on his own line and the cows were tackled on the 5th at 12 metres… On Talakai’s hands there was a great line from Cronk that Talakai’s hands were so quick he barely left fingerprints on the ball
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yeah I’m not sure about 14 either Nicho’s brilliance is as much a result of the cumulative weight of his touches as any individual action Always asking questions until he gets the right answer. Can he do that from 14?
The Barry
Roar Guru
So was Barrett… :laughing:
NQR
Roar Rookie
The depth was stronger last year with Gilbert, Lemuelu and Hammer they were 2 year 50 plus game quality players. Their replacement are debutant level youngsters. Tamou was brought to help but missing Luciano, Taumalolo, Neame, Luki has thrown the team into survival of the fittest mode. Cotter, McClean and Nanai have all been injured also. Drinkwater is a hot and cold flat tracker. He makes Davey Warner look like definition of Mr reliable. Townsend and Hiku are aging quickly.
3 R M
Roar Rookie
Rob the way he was influencing the bunker got me. I know he always crucifies us. At Cronulla whos home crowd is excellent at home games in they way they implore the reffs, we were always for a tough one. But by geez we were awful. We just compounded everything by the way we turned the ball over when we actually got it. Without any returns from injury we are left with Ryley Price and Sadrugu in the forwards and Sadrugu is doing 2 ×15 minute shifts in Qcup so I cannot see him coming in. If Luki isn't back this weekend we will probably need dispensation for Finefeuiaki. After round 10 we can use the train and trials or devs and we won't be so thin in the fowards. We are down 5 of our first choice 8 forwards. We had good depth there at the start of the season but they're all in rehab now...
Albo
Roar Rookie
I think the "right dominance" thing is purely that Hynes is generally on the right side , whilst Moylan is on the left. Both can move about at times , but I reckon both sides are equally utilised.
NQR
Roar Rookie
I’m a fan of the Fitzgibbon Nicko ( Sharks). Really enjoy the way they play. I hope they go well because it’s a brand of football I love. I’m thinking the Sharks are certainly a premiership chance if they get the defence spot on. The Cowboys are certainly a long way from last years model and it’s understandable when you see the personal changes and injuries they have had this season. They have used 26 different combinations and Granville coming in for Taumalolo is just an example of what they are facing at present. It would be pointless for Payten to make an appointment with advanced hair that’s for sure. I can’t stick it to anyone at the Cowboys because it would be incredibly tough visiting the Sharks ( looking to avenge) on a short turnaround with limited troops and few weapons. All excuses but they are legitimate reasons. PS. It doesn’t help having Sutton officiating either. Hard to play with an official that invents a different spin on things and finds away to regularly have an influence on momentum. It would appear his presence doesn’t agree with the Cowboys. If Kyle Feldt receives a penalty instead of a drop out the momentum could be stopped. If a forward pass is pulled up things can change. If a player is ruled to have knocked on catching a ball instead being tackled not in possession. I think Feldt got done for incorrectly playing the football and then a Sharks player did exactly the same thing that was let go? More excuses I know but theses things are magnified when confidence and fire power is already low. Hopefully the nightmare ends before September.
Rubbish Surf 69
Roar Rookie
The Sharks played well, but honestly I can’t remember seeing such a pathetic opposition team as the Cows were. Hard to judge the Sharkies so high when they’re playing absolute rabble.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Yeah Cam SOO is a different level and I Dont think he’ll be as effective.However he does bring X factor into it. This club Combo thing is overrated- the Toads worked out last year how to shut down Luai.Nicho could put a bit of doubt in the defence.I have my doubts about him having an impact as a 14.
Adam
Roar Guru
It might be a tactic to open up that strong attacking side...
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Like Fitzy, wait a bit and the better clubs will come a knockin'.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
If they didn’t have Dearden that score could have been anything
Noel
Roar Rookie
I love the bloke, but realistically, any team that is starting with J Granville at prop or lock is going to get hammered in the middle. He'll tackle his guts out, but he won't ever dominate an opposition pack. I just can't work out the thinking behind it. Is the depth that poor? And, just as we watched Welch try his best to not get selected for Origin on Tuesday, I agree that Nanai has all but played himself out of a jersey. Terrible shame, but there is something seriously amiss up North.