This is what happens when a team that wants its season to end comes up against one that wants to prolong it as long as possible.
Cronulla remain in the hunt for a home semi-final, despite not having a home ground capable of hosting one. Regardless, Craig Fitzgibbon’s men have the type of momentum that could propel them deep into September. Maybe October.
The latest victory came at a venue that has been unkind to them. It was achieved without injured stars Siosifa Talakai, Toby Rudolf, Will Kennedy and Kade Dykes. Manly, missing key men of their own, were no match.
This was an emphatic way for the Sharks to snap a seven-game losing streak at 4 Pines Park to secure the Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy. It wasn’t quite as dominant as their opening half against the same opposition in April – the advantage was 22-0 instead of the 32-0 scoreline in round seven – but this time there wasn’t a Manly comeback. This was the Sharks’ sixth win on this turf, and by far the biggest.
Cronulla enjoyed many bright moments, and Nicho Hynes was involved in most of them. The haflback scored two tries, set up one with a brilliant pass that hit an unmarked winger’s chest and kicked a 40-20. The former Storm star even booted six goals for good measure. He finished with a personal points tally of 20. Is there anything he can’t do?
It was a memorable occasion for the Manly halves, for altogether different reasons. Daly Cherry-Evans became the second-most capped Sea Eagle of all time, his 281st appearance putting him one ahead of Steve Menzies (“The Beaver” also made 69 appearances for the Northern Eagles). Only Cliff Lyons, with 309, stands above him.
Nicholas Hynes celebrates a try.Credit:Getty
It was the last time Kieran Foran will walk onto the turf from the home dressing room. His association with the Sea Eagles, over two stints, has been long and, for the most part, successful. At one point he took the ball deep into the line, in his usual fearless style, only to be levelled by Braden Hamlin-Uele. This is a night he would like to forget.
The NRL recently trumpeted an end to the blowouts, pointing to a greater number of games being in the balance up until the final quarter. However, the disparity between the contenders and the rest has become more pronounced this weekend.
There was much to like about this Cronulla performance. Their defence wasn’t breached until the 77th minute, when “DCE” took an intercept. The Sharks forwards were content to share the workload, laying a platform for their more creative teammates. Hynes combined seamlessly with Matt Moylan, who scored a try of his own and had a hand in several others. Every member of the Cronulla back five ran for more than 100 metres, with fill-in fullback Lachlan Miller highlighting the depth at the club. The good news kept coming when Dale Finucane, sidelined early in proceedings due to a rib issue, recovered sufficiently to complete the match.
Ronaldo Mulitalo is tackled just short of the line.Credit:Getty
“Yes and no,” Fitzgibbon said when asked if he was happy with the performance. “It was a really important one for us tonight, it was for the Steve Rogers Cup. It was important we played strongly for that, he was an important part of our club and Manly as well.
“Also the history of coming to Brookvale was another challenge for us, so we had plenty of reasons to get up tonight.
“If you look at it from a game-by-game basis, did we perform with what we wanted to achieve tonight? Yep. Can we improve? Yep. Are we happy with where we are at? We’re happy but we’re not where we need to be. We need more.”
A top-four finish has been secured. With upcoming games against the Bulldogs and Knights, they may end the regular season as high as second.
For Manly, the post-mortems will soon commence. The team hasn’t won since the inclusivity jersey debacle, but coach Des Hasler isn’t using that as an excuse.
“We are trying really hard,” he said. “It doesn’t get any easier. We need to get back to coming up with a good game, we need to find a good game of footy.”
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