NRL 2021: New Zealand Warriors win 18-16 over Cronulla Sharks | Match Report
Matt Moylan’s return will be a boost for Cronulla’s hopes of making the NRL finals, but coach Josh Hannay knows he needs more.
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Sharks coach Josh Hannay is sweating on the answer to the “million dollar question” that could hold the key to the club’s finals hopes.
Star playmaker Matt Moylan has been named in the squad in recent weeks and then cut at the death, as he battles a calf injury that has kept him out since round 15.
Half Shaun Johnson is unavailable for rest of the year with a hamstring tear and the Sharks are fielding an inexperienced halves pairing of Connor Tracey and Braydon Trindall.
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The duo failed in the last two matches to get the team home when the game was in the balance, including the 18-16 loss to the Warriors where Moylan’s experience would have been vital.
Cronulla, now two points outside the top eight, face a must-win game against the Knights on Sunday where a loss would end their finals hopes.
“It is the million dollar question. He is getting closer,” Hannay said of Moylan’s availability.
“He is as frustrated as anyone and is working extremely hard.
“He has just come to the point with a soft tissue recovery where it has stopped improving at the rate we all hoped. He is desperate to get back out there and we are doing everything we can to get him right. Fingers crossed he is available next week.”
The Sharks young spine was unable to make the most of Kane Evans’s second sin-binning on Saturday and played like headless chooks in the second half. Hannay took responsibility for the bizarre decision to turn down a late penalty shot at goal, but conceded the team was missing Johnson and Moylan.
“We have got a young spine out there at the moment and are missing some seniority in those positions,” he said.
“I think they are trying their backsides off but we looked a bit frantic and flustered out there [against the Warriors] when we had some good ball opportunity. I think we showed a lack of composure at key times.
“Certainly losing at this time of the year, and in the situation we are in, is not ideal.
“It is a tough loss to take and a tough pill to swallow and everyone is pretty shattered, staff and myself included.
“My job is to pick these guys up because they are disappointed, and that is going to be a challenge. We play a similar side in Newcastle next week who are in a similar situation.”
The Sharks do have a laundry list of players unavailable including inspirational skipper Wade Graham. The squad is thin and Hannay is keen to bring in reinforcements for the last month of the season.
“We are definitely in the market in terms of loan players and I will be making some calls,” Hannay said.
“ Whoever we bring in they won’t be season savers or superstars. We need to find people who can add depth to our squad. We are pretty thin.”
SHARKS FAIL TO TAKE THEIR CHANCES
Warriors prop Evans was sin-binned twice but the Sharks were unable to drive home the advantage as they lost the plot themselves in the second stanza.
A Chambers sledge on the cusp of halftime threatened to turn the game.
The veteran centre crashed Evans to the turf and whispered an inflammatory sweet nothing in the volatile prop’s ear. Evans had a brain explosion, threw a couple of lefts at Chambers and was in the bin while the Sharks went bang, bang to take a 16-6 lead into halftime.
Those two tries, to Briton Nikora in the 38th minute and Will Kennedy in the 40th, did not deter the Warriors. The Sharks blundered their way through the second half and tries to Reece Walsh and a barnstorming Euan Aitken drew them level at 16-all.
Teenager Walsh, who had a sensational second half, landed a penalty while Evans was in the bin again – this time for head slamming Chambers – to give the Warriors the lead.
Cronulla, who played some dumb football, panicked and threw away a golden chance to re-enter the top eight against a brave Warriors who went back-to-back games for the first time this year.
“We had our chances. We probably showed we have a young spine out there at the moment,” Hannay said.
“They are trying their backsides off but we looked frantic and flustered out there when we had some good ball opportunity.”
Warriors coach Nathan Brown said “to hang in there and find ways to stop Cronulla, and create some opportunities and take them, was pleasing.”
CHAMBERS v EVANS
Last week Hannay censured Chambers for verballing Manly’s Dylan Walker when the Sharks were behind. This time it was 6-all and whatever Chambers said caused Evans to lose it.
Evans couldn’t resist having another crack at Chambers and was incredibly binned again for head slamming him in the second half.
Evans had a coach killing performance. Asides from being sin-binned twice, and put on report for both, he was also put on report for a cannonball tackle on Ronaldo Mulitalo. Chambers was spraying the Warriors all day and latched onto Viliami Vailea’s boot and hurled it high over Fox League sideline eye Corey Parker’s head.
There is a chance @NZWarriors Nathan Brown folded Kane Evans at halftime.
— Andrew Voss (@AndrewVossy) August 7, 2021
Kane Evans with a hell of a stint this arvo
— James (@roosterjamez) August 7, 2021
- 27 minutes
- 2 sin-bins
- 2 errors
- 3 penalties conceded
- 3 missed tackles
On the subject of the Chambers sledging, Hannay said “the team that wins has the last laugh”.
Brown had a chuckle about the way Chambers got under his men’s skin.
“We had some senior players engaging with Will and I explained to them at halftime that Will can engage in that and still play reasonably well,” Brown grinned.
“Our blokes were engaging and not playing well. We leaked two tries because Will was a bit smarter than us. Kano had his moments I suppose, but we got the win and that is what it is all about.”
POWER PROPS
The Warriors future is bright on several fronts but no more so than the acquisition of one-two punch front-rowers Addin Fonua-Blake and Matt Lodge. The duo in tandem dominated the Sharks in the early stages and combined with their offloading ability they caused Cronulla all kinds of problems.
“They are both high quality players and mature players. Addin in particular in the second half was probably the standout player on the field,” Brown said.
Throw in the attacking and defending nous of Josh Curran in the back-row and the pack the Warriors are assembling is one to be reckoned with.
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