Ladder-leading Sharks put in their place in brutal NRL reality check

In another reminder the NRL premiership isn’t won in May, the competition ladder-leaders have been blown away on their home ground.

Sharks players were humbled by the defending champs. Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

The ladder-leading Sharks have been blow off Shark Park in a brutal 42-0 demolition at the hands of the three-time defending premier Penrith Panthers.

It was billed as a match between the NRL’s two best defensive teams but it was an utter bloodbath as the Panthers — still without Nathan Cleary — ended the Sharks’ seven game winning streak.

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With big wins over the Storm and Roosters in the past two weeks, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has been trying to give his side perspective.

After the Storm loss, Fitzgibbon said “There is so much more to come between now and the end of the season.

“We are not walking around thinking we have won premierships and got the right to carry on and get ahead of ourselves.”

And for the most part, the Sharks haven’t.
But coming against a Panthers who lost a Magic Round thriller to the Warriors last week, the champions put the Sharks in their place with a ruthless performance.

In front of a packed house at PointsBet Stadium, the Sharks had two tries in the first eight minutes and never looked back, finishing the first half leading 28-0 with five unanswered tries.

Another two in the second half saw the scoreline balloon out.

Meanwhile the Sharks’ best opportunity came in the final stages of the game, a sign of just how completely they were outplayed.

“When you play championship sides like this you can’t beat yourself and there were a couple of mistakes (from the Sharks),” commentator Michael Ennis said on Fox Sports.

With Panthers halfback Jarome Luai up against presumed Blues half Nicho Hynes, it proved to be a titanic mismatch with the Penrith star dominating the match.

Hynes lasted until just before halftime before he was sent for a head injury assessment after copping an accidental knee and ultimately being ruled out of the match due to calf tightness.

It was a tough night at Shark Park. Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Hynes had just five runs for 31m and never really got in the game as the Panthers dominated possession, field position and ultimately the game.

Luai finished with a try, 15 runs for 117m, a try assist, two line breaks, two line break assists and eight tackle breaks in a brilliant performance.

“Jarome Luai is having a five-star performance here in Cronulla,” Ennis said.

“In the last couple of weeks without Nathan (Cleary) he’s had a real direct mentality to his game.”

It was a brutal reality check for the Sharks and social media wasted no time hitting out at the ladder-leaders.

Reporter John Dean commented: “When was the last time a team sitting on top of the ladder at this point of the season got hammered 42-0? Embarrassing from the Sharks.”

Content creator Adam Hayward added: “Penrith reminding everyone there’s a big difference between a good team and a great team!”

One fan said: “Last time a Panther belted a Shark this bad....... it was by Mick Fanning.”

Another fan posted: “I could hear those Premiership credentials bursting from here, but story isn’t Sharks – it’s Panthers, big reminder to the rest of us who the Daddy of the League is.”

Another tweeted: “Shark supporters telling everyone they are the real deal this year being humbled tonight.”

The Panthers were too good. Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Fitzgibbon said the Panthers didn’t give the Sharks a look in.

“We definitely need to get back to the basics, the simplest parts of the game because that’s what let us down,” Fitzgibbon said.

“And they were terrific. They played as good and as clinical as you can control a game with field position, the way they held onto the ball and applied pressure — we didn’t apply any.”

Sharks captain Cameron McInnes said the side learned a valuable less from the rout.

“We fell short tonight but you’ve got to let go of that because we’re still the same team that we’ve been previously this year,” McInnes said.

“You’ve got to earn it every week and we learned that tonight.”

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary appeared much happier with the result than he did after losing to the Warriors last week.

“We needed a response from last week and the boys turned up on Tuesday very open and honest with what we did and didn’t do last week,” Cleary said.

“We got on with the job of turning it around.

“We just played more like we want to play and know we can and did it regardless of external circumstances.”

Cleary also praised Luai, particularly his kicking game, calling it “the best he’s ever done”.