Well, the Sharks managed to do it yet again on Thursday night, dusting up a mid or lower ranked team on the ladder, on the road and impressively.
The Cowboys were cod ordinary on home soil to start Round 25, as Nicho Hynes reminded everyone of his quality by leading Cronulla to a third straight win and, at least temporarily, into fourth spot on the NRL ladder.
When it comes to putting away opposition in the manner that teams inside the top eight should, few do it as well as the Sharks. Craig Fitzgibbon’s men have lost consistently to the who’s who of the potential 2023 top eight. The Rabbitohs, Raiders, Broncos, Sea Eagles and Warriors all took the two points against them in tight encounters.
In addition, the Sharks suffered bad losses against Penrith, Melbourne and in a return clash with New Zealand where they were hammered 44-12. In fact, the only teams inside the current top eight they have beaten are the inconsistent Bunnies and the Knights back in May, when they were far from the form they are showing late in the season.
Along the journey, Cronulla have beaten up on the teams they should, like the school yard bully who bailed me up against a wooden door in 1982 and robbed me of my Scanlens football cards. If I ever get my hands on that bloke!
Way back in March, the Sharks whacked the Dragons 40-8, a 44-6 win over the Cowboys in April was equally impressive. The Bulldogs were the victims in a 48-10 drubbing on June 18 and St George-Illawarra backed up for another dose, losing 52-16 in late June.
Then, faced with two important matches to lock in their place in the top eight over the last fortnight, the Sharkies picked the low hanging fruit with style yet again, ironing out the Titans by 36-6 and then comfortably accounting for the Cowboys on Thursday.
Nicho Hynes was once again superb for the Sharks against the Cowboys on Thursday night. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Across the length of the season there has been just the lone slip up against teams now considerably below them on the ladder. The Dolphins stunned the Sharks by 20 in May, yet at the time, Wayne Bennett’s team was looking a whole lot better than the struggling one now slipping further and further down the ladder and sitting in 14th.
Their 589 points scored in 2023 says a lot about the potency within the Cronulla attack and their ability to put poor teams to the sword when the opportunity arises. However, the 459 conceded also suggests that they are defensively well off the standard expected to be seriously competing for the premiership trophy in six weeks’ time.
If form means anything, the final fortnight of the home and away season will be a tricky one for Cronulla to navigate. The Knights are first cab off the rank in the Hunter, a team in electric form and looking to sure up their own position in the top eight. Then Ricky Stuart’s Raiders head to Sydney in Round 27, with their destiny likely to rest on a successful trip north.
The Newcastle Knights are flying towards September action. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Two losses for Cronulla would pretty much sum up what has a been a season of successful dealing with those expected to be so, and being handled fairly comfortably by the teams more seriously challenging for the premiership.
Barring a dramatic defensive turnaround and some steel being shown during the finals against teams that look far better prepared than they, the Sharks will be simply cannon-fodder for the big guns. There is no way a Penrith, Brisbane, Melbourne or Warriors team in full flight will be overly concerned if matched up with Cronulla during the finals.
In fact, they might actually be rubbing their hands with glee, just as the Sharks do when they beat up on the minnows.
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