Bulldogs defeated at Shark Park
- Author
- Timestamp
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.
Wilton finishes it after a Hynes break
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.
Flanagan gets the Dogs back in it
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.
Match: Sharks v Bulldogs
Round 16 -
home Team
Sharks
4th Position
away Team
Bulldogs
15th Position
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
Match Snapshot
- Bulldogs winger Braidon Burns was placed on report in the 28th minute for a Dangerous Tackle.
- Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes' superb performance consisted of 235 run metres, two try assists and three tackle breaks.
- Bulldogs forward Jacob Preston got through a mountain of work in defence, making 43 tackles and only missing one.
- Bulldogs five-eighth Karl Oloapu left the field in the 51st minute of the match and did not return.
- Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey had a day out in the No. 9 jersey, having a hand in three tries and making 24 tackles in his 66-minute performance.
- The Bulldogs have not won at PointsBet Stadium since 2011.
- Sharks second-rower Briton Nikora celebrated his 100th NRL game in style, scoring a try and breaking three tackles.
- Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has scored 20 tries in 20 games at PointsBet Stadium.
Play of the Game
In just his ninth match, Tom Hazelton had all of PointsBet Stadium on their feet when he charged downfield to score his first NRL try. Having only joined the side after Royce Hunt suffered an ankle injury in Round 15, the Cronulla rookie staked his claim as a regular first-grader when he got in on the action on Sunday afternoon. Off the back of a Nicho Hynes line break, the Goulburn forward muscled his way through several Sharks defenders to open proceedings in the second half. The 24-year-old backed-up his 47th minute try with a barnstorming hit up off the kick off, well and truly stamping his authority on the match.
Hazelton keeps the Sharks rolling
What They Said
"I thought we started with real intent and were showing really good signs early in that first grind in the game...we spoke about the start all week and I thought the boys really ripped in there. Sometimes you just need something to go right for you and we're not having much go right for us at the moment. But 50 or 60 missed tackles again, clearly we need to work on that but that's an attitude thing as well. We need to buy into the defensive pressure and the system we've got in place." - Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo
Bulldogs: Round 16
"It was a good response to last week. I thought the first ten minutes was good because we actually earnt the right to play some footy instead of settling into the game. We trained hard this week on getting that right. He (Nicho Hynes) got the balance right. He's responsible for us getting into the style of footy we want to play. He tackled strong and ran the ball a lot. The attitude adjustment was the most impressive thing, not the tries for me." - Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon
Sharks: Round 16
What's Next
Both sides enjoy a bye next week before Sharks kick off Round 18 with a Thursday night clash against the Dragons at PointsBet Stadium and the Bulldogs host the Knights later in the week on Sunday.
