An impressive performance by the Sharks has put them provisionally into the top 4 and left the Cowboys season on life support.
Result
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 32
Tries: Ronaldo Mulitalo (17), Thomas Hazelton (30), Royce Hunt (33), Wade Graham (48), Nicho Hynes (72)
Goals: Nicho Hynes 6 (19, 32, 35, 50, 66, 73)
North Queensland Cowboys 12
Tries: Scott Drinkwater (12), Semi Valemei (22)
Goals: Scott Drinkwater 2 (14, 23)
Report
The Cronulla Sharks have overcome a slow start to dominate the North Queensland Cowboys 32-12 in front of 17,318 spectators on a humid Thursday night at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
The Cowboys were the better side for the opening half hour, however the introduction of the Sharks interchange forwards turned the tide and ensured that Jason Taumalolo’s 250th first grade game ended in disappointment.
Sharks fullback Connor Tracey was a deserved winner of the Paul Green Medal for player of the match.
Scott Drinkwater got the Cowboys on the board first when he dummied and burnt the defensive line to score in the 13th minute, converting for 6-0.
An error and set restart put the Sharks deep on the attack in the 19th minute where Connor Tracey stayed alive to set up Ronaldo Mulitalo in the corner. Nicho Hynes landed the sideline conversion, locking the scores at 6-all.
The Cowboys were quick to take back the lead when Chad Townsend drifted across field to link with Peta Hiku, who offloaded to Semi Valemei to score in the corner. Drinkwater converted from touch, putting the Cowboys 12-6 ahead.
Needing to turn the momentum around, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon looked to his bench, bringing Tom Hazelton, Royce Hunt and Jack Williams into the fray. A strong charge by Hazelton in the 32nd minute saw him brush past Luciano Leilua and carry two other defenders over the line, crashing past the upright in the process. Hynes landed the simple conversion to lock the scores at 12-all.
A similarly strong charge by Hunt three minutes later saw him bump away from Drinkwater and break another tackle to score a try of his own, with Hynes again converting to give the Sharks an 18-12 lead that they took to half time.
Jeremiah Nanai looked to inspire the Cowboys with a bell ringer on Hunt on the first tackle of the second half, however it was the Sharks who were first on the board when Hynes grubbered through the line for Wade Graham to score out wide. Hynes continued his impressive night with the boot, converting to push the lead to two converted tries.
Strong defence by Tracey on Reuben Cotter shut down a potentially dangerous situation for the Sharks, before a 40/20 by Braydon Trindall put them back into attacking range. A smart grubber by Trindall in the following set forced a goal line drop out that failed to travel the ten metres, gifting Hynes an easy penalty goal.
Hynes added a soft try in the final minutes to blow the final score out to 32-12, putting the Sharks back into the top 4 and leaving the Cowboys outside the top 8.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR POINTS
Embed from Getty Images3 – Connor Tracey (Sharks)
2 – Thomas Hazelton (Sharks)
1 – Braydon Trindall (Sharks)
