Rarely has a comeback victory from 12 points down been less convincing.
Cronulla stormed back from an 18-6 deficit to swamp St George Illawarra at Shark Park on Thursday night.
But if they think this 30-18 result gets them back on track for a premiership tilt they’re kidding themselves.
The Sharks responded after a slow start but the Dragons went to water and if they put in this kind of performance against the true title contenders, they will pay the price.
1. Sharks go from toothless to just good enough
The Sharks have avoided losing three straight but they can’t hide from the fact that this was a pretty mediocre performance.
A loss would have put them in danger of dropping out of the top eight but they are still within striking distance of the top four if they can hit their straps in the second half of the season.
Losing to a depleted Roosters side was a concern and getting beaten by the Warriors doubled the trouble and alarm bells were ringing after their limp first-half display against the Dragons.
Their game plan seemingly amounted to a plan of bombing the bejeezus out of St George Illawarra’s back three, particularly targeting winger Tyrell Sloan.
Nicho Hynes is tackled by Damien Cook and Luciano Leilua. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
And when that didn’t pay off, there seemed to be no alternative option.
When Craig Fitzgibbon first came to Cronulla in 2022, he turned them into an attacking force with sweeping plays from sideline to sideline characterised by black, white and blue bodies in motion.
Lately it’s been a heavy dose of one-out running or Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall crabbing sideways before dumping the ball off to a support player.
The bombing raid eventually paid off as they powered past their derby rivals in the second half but you would have to be easily impressed to think Cronulla are back to anywhere near their best.
2. Dragons’ discipline lets them down
After copping a 50-point flogging last week from the Dolphins, only the most one-eyed Dragons supporter gave them any hope against the Sharks.
St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan boldly guaranteed the 56-6 result was just a blip on the radar and he would ensure such a diabolical performance would not happen again.
Whatever he said to rev them up before this game did the trick because his players weathered an early storm before showing the resolve that was notably absent six days earlier against the Dolphins to lead by 12 at the break.
But the Mr Hyde side came out of the Dr Jekyll Dragons in the second term with a succession of needless penalties and poor decisions in attack and defence adding up to them surrendering two valuable competition points.
They have now won just five of 13 outings and are quickly falling to the back of the chasing pack in the logjam of hot-and-cold teams occupying the bottom 12 rungs of the NRL ladder.
3. Switch on, switch off for both sides
The Sharks dominated the opening 20 minutes with the Dragons barely sighting the northern end of the field.
But after Blayke Brailey set up the opening points for Brandon Trindall, the scores were level when Dragons veteran Damien Cook jinked past three defenders in the visiting team’s first foray into the red zone.
Again, seemingly out of nothing, the Drains hit the front in the 27th minute when rookie pivot Lykhan King-Tongia escaped the clutches of three defenders to give his team a surprise 12-6 lead.
When centre Jesse Ramien was sin-binned for a professional foul late in the first half, the Dragons made it three tries on the trot to take a 12-point buffer into half-time.
King-Tongia made a crucial try-saving tackle early in the second half to deny Sione Katoa and keep the hosts at arm’s length.
But the tide turned when Kiwi forward Briton Nikora crashed over from a typically tough charge on the left edge and when Trindall pounced after a Dragons fumble from a bomb, the ledger was all square.
Cronulla completed a three-try 10-minute blitz when Katoa mesmerised the defence to slide over for a 22-18 advantage.
They went six points ahead with a penalty goal and the Dragons were dudded on the short restart when referee Grant Atkins said their kick did not “break the plane” of 10 metres when it was plain that it did.
Katoa clinched the result a few minutes later when he produced a superb slips catch to scoop up a King-Togia kick ricochet.
4. LKT one to watch
Shane Flanagan bit the bullet last month by dumping under-performing half Lachlan Ilias to look to the future.
King-Togia is the young prospect he entrusted with the playmaking duties along with his son Kyle.
Thursday night’s Shark Park jaunt was his sixth straight start in the halves and after being switched to five-eighth from halfback, he’s finding his feet as a hole runner, leaving the game managing duties to Flanagan.
He has only recently turned 20 so he’s still a few years away from being anywhere near the finished product but Flanagan may as well persist with the Toowoomba product for the rest of the season.
5. Time running out for this squad
The Sharks need to make some tough decisions soon about their roster.
They have had arguably the most settled squad in the NRL over the past few years but that stability is in danger of becoming stale.
After signing Addin Fonua-Blake on a four-year deal this season from the Warriors, they don’t have the salary cap space as yet to re-sign fullback Will Kennedy, let alone add any more high-profile recruits.
Young utility Dan Atkinson, who has spent more time on the bench this season and was an unused reserve in this match, is off to St George Illawarra but his exit will not free up too many dollars as he is on a modest deal that he inked before his breakout 2024 season.
The main members of their team are by no means long in the tooth but if they keep coming up short in the finals, or not even qualifying, serious questions need to be asked in the Sutherland Shire.
This win lifted them to an 8-6 record and kept them in fifth spot but they are a long way behind the top four teams even though they have been unaffected by Origin selections and are close to full strength.
The Kick: No fire in local derby
The days of the obligatory punch-up are long gone but these derby matches in the not so distant past used to feature extra intensity.
The Sharks have always hated their Red V big brothers and particularly in recent times when St George Illawarra has been far less successful than their neighbours, the rivalry has been fierce.
But this felt like just another regular season match.
Perhaps it’s a result of the players from most NRL clubs being matey matey before, during and after matches these days but there was little bite and no spite on Thursday night.
Perhaps a club official needs to parade through the leagues club’s Chinese restaurant cutting up the opposition team’s jersey with a pair of scissors to reignite the hatred between the two teams.
Naaah, nobody would be crazy enough to do that.
