Cronulla has provided South Sydney with a harsh dose of reality and reinforced their standing as an NFL powerhouse with a convincing 27-12 victory at Shark Park.
(Note: It appears there may be a confusion regarding 'NRL' which typically stands for National Rugby League in Australian sports context, notNFLwhichstandsforNationalFootballLeagueinAmericanfootball.)
The exhausted Rabbitohs had emerged as the unexpected standout of the competition during their undefeated start over the first two weeks, but they were dominated by the hot favorites, Sharks halves Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes, on Saturday.
In his brief four-game NRL career for the Rabbitohs, half Jamie Humphreys found himself without solutions. Under Wayne Bennett’s leadership during his second tenure as coach, South Sydney appeared considerably behind when it came to competing with the top teams.
Bennett mentioned that they had a rough start compared to their opponents.
"To our credit, these guys kept hanging in there and fighting, but there were a few opportunities and we didn't grab them."
Cronulla were near-perfect, racing to 20-0 by halftime before easing their foot off the pedal in the second half.
Hynes scored the opener inside five minutes, Trindall kicked two 40/20s, and the backline combined in an early contender for try of the season.
When Trindall crashed over on the left edge five minutes after the break, premiership fancies Cronulla were 26-0 up and looked unlikely to be chased down.
Trindall sealed the deal with a field goal in the closing moments of the game.
"I am delighted with everybody's efforts; it’s great to return here and secure a win at our own ground,” stated Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
The sole dampener for the Sharks was the departure of forwards Braden Hamlin-Uele and Siosifa Talakai due to knee and ankle injuries, respectively.
Fitzgibbon mentioned they aren't certain about the seriousness of the situation.
Sharks player Blayke Brailey was substituted later in the game due to a bruised thigh.
South Sydney's fullback, Jye Gray, might attract attention from the match review committee after performing a hip-drop style tackle that took down Talakai and left coach Bennett puzzled.
"I'm not sure what a hip-drop is to be honest with you, and I'm not saying that sarcastically," Bennett said.
"It's a pretty confusing lot of rules around that. I'm not a real good judge of hip-drop tackles."
Hynes was the architect of the Sharks' early lead, first stepping inside Isaiah Tass to the tryline, then putting notorious hole-runner Briton Nikora through a gap.
In their third attempt, the Sharks displayed their offensive prowess when Ronaldo Mulitalo grabbed a loose ball in the in-goal area and darted past Cody Walker onto the pitch.
He offloaded to quick-thinking Will Kennedy, who found Kayal Iro on the left.
Ieroete broke through and sprinted past Souths' new recruit Mikaele Ravalawa for a spectacular 75-metre run, as the Sharks made an impressive end-to-end play that could stand out as one of the finest tries of the year.
Despite the Sharks' mistakes, they seemed almost golden in the opening period. When Sam Stonestreet’s pass fell to the ground within their own 20-meter area, causing the spectators to sigh, Kennedy managed to collect the loose ball efficiently.
The fullback, who isn’t under contract yet, showcased his talents by outmaneuvering Campbell Graham and setting up another distant-team score, which he ultimately completed.
Following an impressive start in the initial two matches at Souths, Humphreys struggled more on Saturday, conceding a penalty that led to the Sharks' second try due to a careless high tackle.
He threw a forward pass down the short side while the Rabbitohs were hunting their first points in the first half, and was moved to lock after the break.
"We were 20 points behind, we had to get some attack into our game," Bennett said.
"We could use it again, we may not use it again."
In the last few minutes of the game, Humphreys scored after quickly tapping the ball down near his opponents’ end. This came just as Jack Wighton notched the Rabbitohs' initial try with around 12 minutes left. However, this effort proved insufficient for Souths to change their fate.
