2 weeks Ago By Paul Suttor
The Sharks have broken their playoff drought with Braydon Trindall stepping up for a still struggling Nicho Hynes to propel them into a preliminary final showdown with Penrith. Hynes took a back seat as Trindall turned in the most potent performance of his career to end Cronulla’s seven-match playoff losing streak stretching back to 2018 on the back of a four-try first-half blitz. They survived a few anxious moments in the second half as North Queensland staged a frenetic fightback but the Sharks held on for a 26-18 triumph to keep their unlikely title hopes alive.
More League 1. Home sweet adopted home for Sharks The pre-game drama centred around Cronulla wanting to play their semi-final at Shark Park but they looked right at home at Allianz Stadium. After surging to a 24-0 lead by half-time, there was only ever going to be one winner as Craig Fitzgibbon’s side buried their playoff hoodoo in the best possible way.
Trindall was fortunate to be awarded an early penalty try but he showed great hands to set up their second for Cameron McInnes and backed up another failed Cowboys bomb defusal to notch their third for an 18-0 lead. He initiated the break for Ronaldo Mulitalo to touch down just before the break to all but end the contest by the halfway point. Valentine Holmes revived faint hope of a Cowboys comeback with a try early in the second half before Cronulla were twice denied by the Bunker after Sione Katoa and Royce Hunt touched down.
Katoa’s hands let him down again when he botched a high ball for Reuben Cotter to cut the gap to 12. A penalty goal gave the Sharks breathing space with 15 minutes left but a Cotter steal was the catalyst for Holmes to reduce the gap to eight heading into the final 10 minutes. He limped off in the final stages as the Cowboys’ valiant late charge proved too little, too late.
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twitter.com/RnajOfL5xw 2. Cowboys fire blanks before late rally North Queensland entered the finals on a hot streak and made a promising start by overcoming the Knights.
But they went missing when it counted. Their forwards were outmuscled by Cronulla, their halves had no room to move and the outside backs were little more than one-out runners trying to get the team out of their danger zone. Finishing fifth and a second-round finals exit is not the worst result for the Cowboys but it’s not much better than a pass mark for their season.
This is one of the most talented rosters in the NRL with six current Origin representatives but they never quite clicked in 2024. Changing halfbacks late in the season is rarely a recipe for finals success and Jake Clifford had more impact than Chad Townsend but if Todd Payten had his time again, he would have made the call earlier. They will head into next season with largely the same squad apart from Townsend heading to the Roosters, Holmes’ switch to St George Illawarra and veteran winger Kyle Feldt, whose last match at the club ended early due to a calf strain, heading to the Super League.
Win a Ziggy BBQ for Grand Final day, thanks to Barbeques Galore! Enter Here. 3. Nicho better but not back to best Hynes didn’t silence the critics who claim he is not a big-game performer with Greg Alexander even suggesting he should be dropped for rookie half Dan Atkinson.
But he managed to press pause on the chorus of doubters who question his mettle. Hynes was trying his darnedest to rediscover his old magic after a sub-par performance in the Qualifying Final loss to Melbourne. Luckily for him, Trindall took on the mantle of being the Sharks’ chief playmaker and put in a five-star display.
However if the Sharks have any hope of bringing down the Panthers next weekend they need Hynes back in the kind of touch which propelled him to the 2022 Dally M Medal and even that may not be enough against the three-time premiers. Apart from Hynes’ hiccups, the Sharks also have a slight concern over Briton Nikora, who was put on report for a late hit on Tom Dearden early in the second half although the Kiwi forward is likely to only cop a fine. The Cowboys with a solid start to their second half! ⚡️ ???? Watch #NRLSharksCowboys LIVE on ch.
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Cowboys fullback goes to water Drinkwater is a rocks and diamonds player. There was nothing shiny about the way he played against Cronulla. He made a costly handling error which stalled their momentum midway through the first half which led to Trindall’s second try.
And then he let a bomb bounce which presented Cronulla with a repeat set which led to Mulitalo touching down. He tried a long pass in the second half as well which went a long way forward to cruel the Cowboys’ chances of clawing back the deficit and another low-percentage play came unstuck when a line drop-out went out on the full. Drinkwater is an elite attacking threat but he can be a defensive liability.
The Cowboys will persist with him as their fullback in 2025 but they will only go so far with him as a key member of their spine unless he can shake off his wild fluctuations. Blayke Brailey is tackled. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images) 5.
Brailey hooks in The Sharks know his true value but Blayke Brailey is not a name that most opposition fans give too much attention. He is 25 with the youthful looks that would still lead to him getting ID checks at nightclubs but he’s a tough competitor. He saved the Sharks’ skin countless times with his clean-up work around the ruck, making desperate luges to snuff out potential half breaks.
Brailey has 136 NRL appearances under his belt and after going close to making the NSW side this year, he would not look out of place at representative level in the near future. The Kick: Bunker blunders with penalty try call It used to be that you had to be 110% sure that a four-pointer would have occurred before the refs would even consider awarding a penalty try. Nowadays 50-50 calls are getting the green light.
The penalty try pendulum has swung too far the other way and if history is any guide, there will now be a massive over-correction the other way. Trindall’s 14th-minute try was that dubious that even the black, white and blue-eyed Paul Gallen was astounded the decision went in Cronulla’s favour. The five-eighth was clearly fouled by Reuben Cotter when he was brought down after kicking the ball into the in-goal area but Dearden was at the very least in the vicinity and it’s a stretch for the Bunker to claim definitively that Trindall would have scored.
“I think they would have got there at a similar time,” Gallen admitted. “I’m surprised it’s a penalty try. “It was a harsh call on the Cowboys.
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