Anthony Milford shut down as physical Sharks power their way to victory over Broncos

THE Sharks have exposed how to shut down Anthony Milford as they flexed their premiership muscle with a thrilling win over title heavyweights Brisbane.

CRONULLA has exposed how to shut down Anthony Milford, treat him like Johnathan Thurston and bash him for 80 minutes.

The Sharks targeted the brilliant Milford relentlessly and it paid dividends with the five-eighth making key errors late in a thrilling clash of premiership heavyweights.

Cronulla are the first team to truly take Milford out of a game this year and he appeared concussed at one stage.

To his credit Milford fought to break the game apart right to the very end but his performance was below his usual standard as the Sharks won 30-28 in Cronulla.

Milford wasn’t alone though.

Ben Hunt and Sam Thaiday also made crucial errors while the Broncos pack was out muscled in the opening half.

Coach Wayne Bennett put it bluntly when he said his side just “didn’t turn up”.

Anthony Milford reacts after knocking the ball on against the Sharks. Picture: Brett Costello

The vampire-like Broncos shone when the sun went down but their first half deficit of 28-6 was too big to overcome.

With every tackle made on Milford, Sharks players threw knees, legs, arms and elbows into him.

Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan said they wanted to test his physicality.

“He got a few bumps and bruises when we ran at him,” Flanagan said of Milford.

“He’s a quality player. Sitting here doing our preview we knew what sort of player he was and credit to the team they defended him very well.

“He will bounce back.”

Brisbane’s halves combined for four errors, one line break and one try assist against Cronulla.

Milford had one last chance to win the game for Brisbane but his kick found Ben Barba on the full as he was pressured again.

Anthony Milford was well shackled by the Sharks. Picture: Brett Costello

Thurston has been bashed for years and has learned how to use it to his advantage.

It is a process Bennett said Milford would fight through.

“He’s going to have to get used to it,” Bennett said.

“He will come through this period he is in.

“That’s just a reception to how good you are.

“If he wasn’t that good they wouldn’t worry about him.”

Bennett said he was content with his team’s start to the season.

“We saved some face and got some confidence back in the second half. We have tough games coming up but we are in pretty good shape,” he said.

“To be in this competition and be seven and two you can’t complain about that.”

Sharks winger Valentine Holmes beats the dive of Jarrod Wallace.

Milford has been Brisbane’s best this season but the Broncos’ most important players are Adam Blair and Andrew McCullough.

The glue to the Broncos middle defence was missing on Sunday, through Blair’s suspension and McCullough’s injury.

Cronulla proved they were genuine premiership contenders as Harold Holt poked his head above the waves.

These two teams will meet deep in the finals series.

The Sharks’ win was a pivotal point in the premiership which now has three genuine contenders in Brisbane, Cronulla and North Queensland.