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.
It was a night to forget for the Cowboys. Jeremiah Nanai and Coen Hess were both binned, for a hip-drop and a trip respectively.
Chad Townsend departed with a suspected calf injury early in the second half and Tom Chester just before the close.
The Sharks did not escape, either. Braden Hamlin-Uele was taken off in the Nanai hip-drop incident and limped out, while Briton Nikora, one of their best in 2023, suffered a bad knee clash and was withdrawn as a precaution.
The Sharks start in beast mode
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.
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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.
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.
Nanai should miss Origin on this form – if he isn’t banned
Jeremiah Nanai’s hip-drop will likely result in a lengthy suspension given that he has already sat out two matches this year for a spear tackle, and he’ll likely be looking at plenty when the charges hit after this game.
It was a classic hip-drop, with the backrower 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.
Nothing went right for North Queensland
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.
This Cronulla attack is elite
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.
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