Storm belting exposes Sharks’ nightmare stat the NRL ‘can’t avoid’

The Sharks have plenty of soul-searching to do after the Melbourne Storm once again exposed Cronulla’s unwanted record.

The Cronulla Sharks’ horrific finals record has once again come to the forefront after losing a seventh straight finals match in a 37-10 thrashing at the hands of the Storm.

From the kickoff which went through the hands of Sharks fullback Will Kennedy, it was all the Storm as the Sharks looked disjointed and nervous.

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Around the 30th minute of the match, Nicho Hynes missed kicking a ball into touch, which led to a penalty goal for the Storm.

“It’s a horror, it’s a shank… Nicho Hynes, what happened there?” Andrew Voss asked on Fox League.

Nine’s Brenton Speed called it “another monumental error”.

And yet, remarkably, the Sharks were only 14-10 down at halftime after a Benji Marshall-esque Brayden Trindall flick pass put Briton Nikora through under the posts.

Matty Johns told Fox Sports: “Craig Fitzgibbon will be absolutely over the moon. Given the Melbourne Storm dominance, 14-10 is quite incredible.”

With the first try after halftime of utmost importance, the Storm went close several times before finally cracking the line.

From there, the Storm took the game by the neck with Jahrome Hughes putting in a virtuoso performance.

While he was only credited with only one try assist, his kicking game was a nightmare for the Sharks who couldn’t catch with most of the Storm’s second half points coming from kicks.

The result means the Storm will get a week off before hosting either the Roosters or Bulldogs or Sea Eagles in Melbourne, while the Sharks will face the winner of Saturday evening’s Cowboys Vs Knights clash in next week’s sudden death semi-final.

The Sharks will have to defy history. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

But the result also exposes the Sharks’ horrific finals record in recent times.

Under Craig Fitzgibbon, the Sharks are now 0-5. But since the Sharks’ 2016 premiership, the Sharks have lost nine of the their last 10 finals, their last win coming in 2018.

On Fox League, Andrew Voss said you “can’t avoid the stat”.

Matthew Johns said the Sharks will have to do some soul searching through the week.

“They’ve got a fair bit to deal with this week because they way they’ve played today, how indecisive they’ve been, it’s weighed on them — all the pressure, all the talk.,” Johns said.

The talk will only get louder now.

Relive the match below.