High drama as Cronulla Sharks beat Melbourne Storm in thriller

The Sharks have pulled off an impressive upset, beating the premiership favourite Melbourne Storm. But the game wasn’t without controversy, with a NSW bolter sweating on the judiciary after some late drama.

If you asked Craig Fitzgibbon to draw up a win which typified everything he wants his Sharks side to be, then this might have been the perfect script.

Against the competition favourites, losing two men to injury in the first 20 minutes, with a host of Storm State of Origin stars coming to get them in the final minutes, Cronulla somehow found a way in a rollercoaster 31-26 win at Sharks Stadium on Saturday night.

It was the first time since 1992 the peculiar scoreline had been recorded in a top grade Australian match.

To sum up the chaos, there was no need to look further than utility man Daniel Atkinson. He started on the bench, came on at right centre, played right wing, finished on the left wing, and after all that scored two tries.

It’s on nights like these when there’s a little extra electricity in the ageing stands in the Shire, and perhaps no team has traditionally liked a backs-to-the-wall scrap than the Sharks.

Sharks v Storm. Picture: NRL Imagery

Asked where it ranked in terms of Cronulla wins during his tenure, Fitzgibbon said: “It was up there.

“There was a bit of turbulence throughout the game to deal with. It was a great contest, they’re coming, we’re coming. As far as effort and intensity in the game, I thought it was great.”

The win was set up by a powerhouse performance from prop Addin Fonua-Blake and scintillating attacking display in the first half, bringing Melbourne back down to earth after their 64-0 hiding of the Tigers last week.

BATTERED SHARKS FIGHT ON

Playing against the Storm with only two men on the bench for an hour would usually be a death sentence – and that’s exactly what Fitzgibbon faced when he lost centre Jesse Ramien (eye) and winger Sam Stonestreet (syndesmosis) early on.

Added to the problems, the pair play alongside each other on the right edge of the field.

But in one moment, the Sharks showed why they have one of the best balanced rosters in the NRL.

Former State of Origin representative Siosifa Talakai, moonlighting in the centres, threw an outrageous flick pass for makeshift winger Atkinson to score in the first half as Cronulla opened up 25-12 lead, helped by Braydon Trindall’s field goal on the stroke of half-time.

Left side pair Ronaldo Mulitalo and KL Iro were also on the scoresheet before the break as the Storm’s usually miserly defence – which kept the Tigers scoreless in last week’s record rout – was breached regularly.

But while Talakai and Atkinson combined for another sweet four-pointer in the second stanza, they also had their share of traffic aimed at them, with Storm winger Xavier Coates touching down for a hat-trick, including a spectacular aerial effort when he grabbed a Cameron Munster bomb.

GRANT GUARDED ON RETURN

Just how much of a difference does Harry Grant make to the Storm? Maybe the answer was in what he wasn’t asked to do rather than what he did.

In his first game back from a significant hamstring injury, the Kangaroos and Queensland rake was taken off after just 28 minutes as Craig Bellamy nursed his captain back into the fray.

Importantly for Queensland coach Billy Slater, Grant made it through 56 minutes without issue and will report to Maroons camp on Monday.

“I was always a bit of a controlled plan to play 60 minutes,” Grant said. “It felt good. If I get a call, I’ll be right to go.”

Addin Fonua-Blake starred for the Sharks, playing the entire first half due to injury and scoring a try. Picture: Getty Images

AFB COMES TO THE PARTY

After the first 10 rounds, it would be fair to say Addin Fonua-Blake wouldn’t have really been in the conversation as buy of the year. Perhaps he wasn’t even close to being the best middle forward recruit, with the Warriors’ Erin Clark and Tigers’ Terrell May both shining.

But with each passing week, Fonua-Blake’s importance to a Cronulla side primed for a deep finals run is becoming evident, and he bossed the middle of the field.

There was nothing particularly beautiful about his fourth try of the year, a brutal effort from close range after being set up by Blayke Brailey.

But his numbers made for splendid reading: 67 minutes, 211 metres from 19 runs including a staggering 101 post contact metres.

“The longer he’s out there, the harder it is to handle him,” Bellamy said. “He was outstanding.”

Fonua-Blake even had time to pretend to play the ball backwards in the final 90 seconds as the Sharks ran down the clock before the game finished with two skirmishes involving Mulitalo, who copped an on-the-ground hit from Ryan Papenhuyzen on full-time.

Originally published as High drama as Cronulla Sharks beat Melbourne Storm in thriller