Dominant second half saves Sharks
Andrew Stark
Rugby League News
8/04/2013 11:15:00 AM
The Cronulla Sharks maintained their top billing in this season’s VB NSW Cup competition with an emphatic 46-12 disposal of the Wyong at Kanwal.
Fresh from a last round bye, the home team began in great style scoring from the first set of the game. A miscued Brad Murray bomb on the last tackle turned to gold down the right edge as the instigator backed up on the inside to accept the try, which he duly converted.
The Morry Breen crowd (which actually included the legendary Morry
Breen) were further buoyed when a towering Jay Florimo kick was plucked from the Cronulla fullback Matthew Wright’s arms by the eternally determined Roos skipper Mitch Williams.
Wyong were ahead 12-0 after 17 minutes. The competition leaders narrowed the deficit four minutes later when a scrum win inside their own half saw Tyrone Peachey feed Jonathan Wright down a short blind, the Central Coast junior attracted two defenders before sending his winger Alipate Ratini tip toeing down the eastern touchline for the first of his three tries for the afternoon.
Peachey then bedazzled the Roos three minutes prior to the break on a long run that incorporated a handful of dummies and twice as many shimmies. Ratini was again the gleeful recipient of his lock forwards great work and the players trudged to the sheds with Wyong ahead 12-10.
Sadly for Morry Breen, the local fans, and all those present who enjoy a closely fought contest; thirty six unanswered second half points saw the Sharks make somewhat of a mockery of Wyong’s early challenge. It was an imbalance born almost exclusively out of the visitors being too physical, of playing up tempo, of being more skilful and quite importantly, of being blessed with a hefty dose of possession.
The tone of the half was set two minutes after the resumption when eager prop Tim Robinson stripped the pill, one on one, from an unsuspecting Wyong custodian Grant Nelson.
The abrupt turn over lead to a swift shift left with pivot Ben Hampton sending his centre Maurice Blair over for the try.
Subsequent tries to Sosaia Feki (47th minute), Tyrone Peachey (51st minute) and then Peachey again (58th minute) blew any Wyong hopes forcefully toward next week.
The first two of these tries involved man on man defensive misses whilst the third resulted from a dropped ball snapped up by the eagerly circling Sharks.
Ratini’s third try (66th minute) was the best of the game. It began with an attacking Wyong kick from the base of the scrum. Matthew Wright won the race back for the ball and managed to beat three defenders as he escaped his own in goal before charging back to the quarter line.
A ruck later and Tupou Sopoaga found himself charging down the right edge, linking with Pat Politoni and then Penani Manumalealii before Ratini was sent into the corner for a brilliant rugby league try.
Two further touchdowns in the final ten minutes, to Manumalealii and Tim Robinson left the rampant Sharks with a second half try tally of seven.
The only negative from a powerful all round display for the victors was an injury to classy Kiwi winger Matt Duffie sustained very early in the game and which required the Storm flyer to be escorted from the ground in an ambulance.
Cronulla Sharks 46 (A Ratini 3, T Peachey 2, T Robinson, P Manumalealii, S Feki, M Blair tries; M Blair 3, M Wright 2 goals) def. Wyong Roos 12 (B Murray, M Williams tries; B Murray 2 goals).
Things don't get much easier for the Roos this week either with a daunting trip to North Sydney Oval to play the high flying Bears who currently sit in third place on the ladder.
