Cronulla have buried five decades of misery to win the 2016 NRL title

TURN off the porch light. Forget Harold Holt, the NRL trophy is coming to the Shire. The Sharks have buried five decades of misery to claim a maiden premiership.

The Sharks have beaten the Storm to become the 2016 NRL premiers.

TURN off the porch light. Forget Harold Holt, the NRL trophy is coming to the Sutherland Shire.

The Sharks emphatically buried 49 years of misery, tears and near misses to clinch the club’s maiden premiership with a pulsating 14-12 defeat of the Storm.

Before 83,625 fans at ANZ Stadium, Cronulla’s class of 2016 became history-makers to bury metronomic Melbourne and the trauma of the ASADA doping scandal.

It was not achieved without mayhem and melodrama, Sharks centre Ricky Leutele making a trysaver on Marika Koroibete as the fulltime siren sounded to secure a famous triumph.

The Sharks led 8-0 at halftime after a flawless first-half and withstood a fierce second-stanza fightback from the Storm, who claimed a 12-8 lead with 15 minutes to play.

But the maligned Andrew Fifita proved the hero, almost certainly clinching a Test jumper when he crashed over 11 minutes from time to send the Shire into meltdown.

Michael Ennis celebrates a try to Andrew Fifita. Picture. Phil Hillyard

When Leutele grounded Koroibete, Sharks players burst into tears, with inspirational lock Paul Gallen finally tasting grand-final glory in his 279th career game.

“I can’t believe we have done this, oh my God,” Gallen said.

“It means so much to us and the club and all the former players who busted their backsides for the place.

“We had the drama a few years ago and people were trying to destroy the club. This is one of the most resilient brands in Australian sport.

“I’m so proud of the boys. We said at training this week we have to want it and we wanted it more.”

Wade Graham is tackled by the Sharks defence.

Body language is everything in rugby league and Cronulla’s oozed unshakable self-belief. From the opening seconds, there were no nerves, no palpable fears. The Sharks were surging like a monster wave and Melbourne, beaten out of the blocks, were hanging on against a formidable tide.

The first half wasn’t a contest, it was a Cronulla cakewalk. The Storm have built their culture on ruthless consistency but they lost all rhythm as the Sharks emphatically won the ruck with speed, skill and smarts.

If there was a criticism, it was that Cronulla’s 8-0 halftime lead should have been greater. Halftime saved the Storm. And when the Sharks leaked two tries in 14 minutes after the break, Melbourne had one hand on the trophy at 12-8 in the 64th minute.

But Cronulla, so great all year, refused to break.

VICTORY: At last, the Sharks win it all

CONTROVERSY: Fifita stars amid controversy

“I’m a bit numb ... I could see it slipping away,” Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said. “That last tackle had to be made and somehow we made it. I’m so relieved.”

Fifita deserved to score the matchwinner. From the opening minutes, the Sharks enforcer was a rampaging rhino. When he somehow held off four defenders to crash over, it was the ultimate panacea to the pain of his off-field dramas.

Love them or hate them, Gallen and Fifita stood up on the big stage ... and delivered Cronulla to their premiership dreamworld. Up Up Cronulla.

Originally published as Cronulla have buried five decades of misery to win the 2016 NRL title