Mitchell Moses misses conversion after siren to hand Cronulla 22-20 victory in the Shire
A MISSED Mitchell Moses sideline conversation cost the Eels a chance of an unlikely come-from-behind win against Cronulla on Saturday night — but the news was not all good for the Sharks.
Sharks
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sharks. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A MISSED Mitchell Moses sideline conversation cost the Eels a chance of an unlikely come-from-behind win against Cronulla on Saturday night.
Moses had a chance to send the game into golden point following a frenzied final six minutes where the Eels scored three tries to form the most unlikeliest of comebacks. But their dramatic fight back come to no avail with the Sharks holding on two win 22-20.
Parramatta looked done as they trailed 22-4 with 15 minutes remaining, but they left their run too late as they now turn their focus to fellow cellar dwellers Canterbury on Friday.
ORIGIN HOPEFUL: Redfern vibe helping Cook see blue
WHAT’S THE BUZZ: Saint, sinner, shoosh
REHEARSAL: McInnes out to crack Smith duck
Moses could easily have been the hero. He scored the last try in the corner with what turned out to be the final play of the game but sprayed the conversion wide.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan described the final moments as a “horror movie”.
“I think they like doing it to me,” Flanagan said. “It wasn’t a pretty end. It goes to show when teams get momentum it’s hard to stop. The first try was pretty soft. Two blokes missed a tackle. The last trey those things happen when you’re in scramble mode. We should’ve stopped the first two tries.”
Cronulla — who were already without big guns Josh Dugan, Paul Gallen and Luke Lewis — were dealt a further blow when skipper Wade Graham limped from the field after 30 minutes having reinsured his hamstring which now places his NSW Origin jersey in doubt. Scott Sorensen broke his hand but the Sharks expect Gallen to play Canberra next Sunday.
Graham said the injury was frustrating.
“It’s just one of those things,” Graham said. “I started the game fine. I felt fine. I pulled up and felt it pull again. It doesn’t feel overly bad.
“Origin is not on the radar for me now. There’s still a bit of time.”
A rejuvenated Valentine Holmes starred in his return to the No. 1 jersey to record their third consecutive win. Holmes was having his third crack in the fullback role this year and produced his best performance of the season while Chad Townsend helped orchestrated the win. Townsend boot proved the difference with both sides scoring four tries with a second half penalty goal helping Cronulla to the win.
Fill-in skipper Andrew Fifita played an unbroken 58 minutes before returning for the final 12 minutes in front of 12073 people at Southern Cross Group Stadium with the win moving Cronulla inside the top eight for the first time this season.
The recalled Sosaia Feki scored twice as the Sharks raced to a 16-4 halftime lead as Cronulla badly exposed a brittle right defensive edge of the Eels.
Eels coach Brad Arthur lamented his team’s performance.
“We spoke at halftime about giving ourselves a chance,” Arthur said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance until about 10 miss to go. We didn’t build any pressure. With the amount of ball they had in the second half we should’ve been down a few more tries.
“We robbed everyone of a good game to see how it went if it did get into golden point. We had momentum. We have no one to blame but ourselves.”
The Sharks dominated possession in the second half with the Eels completing just two of their opening eight sets.
A clever blindside switch by Jayden Brailey had Townsend and Moylan combining for Edrick Lee to score seven minutes after halftime for Cronulla to lead 20-4.
Holmes was denied a 75 metre run away try which prompted Parramatta’s late try-blitz with David Gower, Michael Jennings and Moses scoring.
CRONULLA 22 (S Feki 2 E Lee C Townsend tries C Townsend 3 goals) bt PARRAMATTA 20 (B French D Gower M Jennings M Moses tries M Moses 2 goals) at Southern Cross Group Stadium. Referee: Adam Gee, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski. Crowd: 12,073.