By Billie Eder
Cronulla will take their 24-12 victory against the Dolphins, but they left much to be desired on Friday night.
The win lifted the Sharks above the red line and into the top eight, but they lacked polish – the kind of polish you need to play finals football.
Nicho Hynes managed to bring his team back from the brink with his second try of the night when the team needed it most, but the Sharks have plenty to work on considering they were facing a second-string Dolphins side who were missing many of their most experienced players – no Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, no Kodi Nikorima, no Felise Kaufusi, no Jack Bostock...the list goes on.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said Friday’s performance was the “story of our season - we made it harder than it had to be.”
Still, a win is a win, and in a competition so condensed in the middle, the two points are crucial for the Sharks to stay in touch with finals. For a team synonymous with strike, speed and the ability to put plenty of points on the board, they finally managed to find some of that in the final fifteen minutes of the match.
But Fitzgibbon said defence had been Cronulla’s focus coming off the bye, following a horror month with heavy losses to the Roosters, Warriors and Storm.
Nicho Hynes scores his second try of the night against the Dolphins.Credit: Getty Images
“We’ve always wanted to work hard on our defence. Five weeks ago, we were second in defence, we’ve just had a really poor month of defence, particularly last plays,” Fitzgibbon said.
“I feel like we should be defending better, particularly at that stage of the year, and it’s knocked us around a bit. The best way to get confidence back is through that, but the momentum swings in the NRL are huge at the moment.
“You’re on the end of quick points, it happens really fast, so it’s harder to get a grip on it, but we stepped in the right direction a little bit last week and again tonight, but it still needs some work.”
There is room for improvement, given the many horrors of the match; Hynes and Briton Nikora losing the ball across the line, Siosifa Talakai handing over possession on halfway, Sione Katoa dropping the ball in front of their own line and Braden Hamlin Uele fumbling the ball from the kick-off.
Herbie Farnworth of the Dolphins breaks through the Sharks defence.Credit: Getty Images
But the Sharks managed to find their mojo when they needed it most to bring home the win on a chilly night in the Shire.
Despite lacking many of their stars, the Dolphins gave the Sharks a scare with a late surge which included Herbie Farnworth poking holes in the Cronulla defensive line as he snaked his way up the field to score.
But Cronulla managed to deliver at the death, with Hynes scoring his second try of the night in the 74th minute before Katoa went across for his own on the full-time siren.
A seventh minute try to Hynes had Cronulla fans on their feet, hopeful his slick attack on the right edge was a taste of things to come. But the Dolphins were also steady in defence.
Will Kennedy makes a break against the Dolphins.Credit: Getty Images
When Will Kennedy made a line break in the 29th minute, it was a chance for Cronulla to swing momentum in their favour, but the Sharks remained sticky in attack, and struggled to ice their end of sets.
Cronulla, desperate for points after a clunky start to the second half, decided to take the two points with a kick from a penalty for a Herbie Farnworth escort.
Jesse Ramien added to that tally with a try on the right edge later in the half, before Hynes added another two to the tally with a penalty kick for a high shot before getting his second try of the night with six minutes left in the match.
The Dolphins were equally clunky in attack, but their lack of cohesion could be more easily forgiven given the players they were missing.
Still, Max Feagai managed to get the Dolphins on the board with a try in the 66th minute, before Farnworth added to the tally four minutes later.
The Sharks have a relatively easy run home with two top eight teams left to face this season, but they’ve got plenty of work to do before they face the Roosters in seven days time.
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