Sharks sneak into top eight with crucial victory against Dolphins
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 victory won't instil too much confidence in Cronulla fans 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.
There were many horrors in 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.
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. And, 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.
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.
The Sharks showed promising signs in defence – keeping the Dolphins scoreless for 65 minutes – but they certainly struggled in attack for most of the match.
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