The Sharks have bounced back in style from last week’s defeat to down the Bulldogs 48-10 in front of a sell-out home crowd.
Coming off a disappointing 54-10 defeat to the Storm, Craig Fitzgibbon’s men were desperate to make amends with the Cronulla faithful, running in five first-half tries before piling on another 18-points in the second term.
With all eyes on Nicho Hynes after the halfback missed selection in the NSW side for Origin II, the reigning Dally M Medallist had a shaky start with several errors but quickly took control of the match, featuring in several of his side’s tries and running for 236 metres.
Losing halfback Matt Burton to Blues camp earlier in the week, Cameron Ciraldo unveiled a new-look spine in Karl Oloapu and Kyle Flanagan and while the two sides traded sets for the first 10 minutes, the Sharks soon took the wind out of the Bulldogs’ sails.
Hynes put his stamp on the match early, having his hand in two early tries for the home side.
Firstly, breaking through the Bulldogs line to streak downfield and opening up space for Teig Wilton to crash over the left edge in the next play and nine minutes later finding Braden Hamlin-Uele on the inside who surged over to make it 14-0.
The Sharks extended their lead in the 24th minute when Hynes ignited a raid down the left-hand side, linking up with fullback Will Kennedy who created an overlap out wide for winger Ronaldo Mulitalo to score.
The Bulldogs got on the board ten minutes before half-time when Kyle Flanagan got one against his former club.
In his first game back since being dropped to NSW Cup in Round 9, Flanagan looked to have a point to prove when he fooled Sharks defenders, scooting from dummy half to burrow over the line and score.
But the Sharks just about put the game out of reach late in the second half when hooker Blayke Brailey set up tries for forwards Cameron McInnes and Jack Williams who both barged over next to the posts, handing the home side a 30-4 lead at the break.
The second half was all the Sharks with rookie Tom Hazelton crossing in the 47th minute for his first NRL try and putting the game out of reach, handing the Sharks a 30-point lead.
Milestone man Briton Nikora crossed for his 30th career try, while centre Jesse Ramien got in on the action five minutes later, strolling across the line.
A consolation try to Bulldogs forward Kurtis Morrin in the 71st minute brought the final score 48-10 but that’s as close as the visitors came to reducing the deficit.
Source: NRL.Com