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Cowboys round up Sharks
Jubilant North Queensland broke its season duck in continuing Cronulla's early-season woes with a 36-10 thumping of the Sharks in tonight's National Rugby League mismatch at Toyota Park.
A week after their embarrassing capitulation to South Sydney and still reeling from the subsequent 10-match suspension dished out to five-eighth Greg Bird for kneeing an opponent in the head, the hapless Sharks remained rooted to equal last place on the competition table following their first loss to the Cowboys since 1996.
The six-tries-to-two drubbing was Cronulla's first-ever home loss to the Cowboys and only their second defeat from 15 meetings with the lowly-rated Queenslanders.
Cronulla captain Brett Kimmorley labelled the Sharks' effort "disgraceful" after watching his team fumble its way through the 80-minute horror show.
The marker defence was almost non-existence as the Cowboys made hay around the rucks, leaving Kimmorley and coach Stuart Raper admitting the Sharks were out-muscled, out-manoeuvred and out-enthused.
They didn't need to say outclassed. It was obvious.
"It was disgraceful at the start to turn up with what looked like no interest," Kimmorley said.
The incumbent Test half agreed the situation was getting desperate for the Sharks, whose one-from-five start to the season compares only slightly better than last year when they opened with six straight defeats and failed to recover in finishing 12th.
"We seem to be going down the same path we went down last year," Kimmorley said.
"It's hard to know how we're going to turn it around after the way we walked off tonight.
"The Easter Bunny comes tomorrow. Hopefully he brings a good present."
Classy centre Nigel Vagana had been hailed during the week as Cronulla's saviour. Instead, the Sharks' prize recruit found himself on report for a high tackle on North Queensland opposite Matt Sing during an unhappy debut for the club in his comeback from shoulder surgery.
The Cowboys, by contrast, were ecstatic to have notched their maiden win of the season.
"It's a pretty boisterous (dressing) room," said coach Graham Murray.
"We're off the mark. There was a bit of pressure there not to be off the mark, so that's gone.
"That was more the standard that we aspired to show. We showed we're not a bad football team."
Cronulla's night started terribly when prop Chris Beattie was laid out in a tackle gone wrong on North Queensland counterpart Paul Rauhihi in the second minute.
Beattie's sore and sorry departure left the Sharks without their two frontline props after Jason Stevens was also suspended during the week for tripping in the ill-disciplined performance against Souths.
North Queensland took full advantage of Cronulla's lack of go-forward and error-ridden play to open up a 20-4 halftime lead through tries to lock Glenn Morrison in the eighth minute, interchange utility David Myles (11th) and fullback Matt Bowen (24th) and four goals to centre Josh Hannay.
Cronulla's only points in the first half came from a try to winger Reece Simmons in the 20th minute. :shock: :lol:
The home team briefly threatened a comeback when Kimmorley's conversion of five-eighth Matt Hilder's try soon after the break reduced the deficit to 10 points.
But the Cowboys struck back in the 52nd minute with a try to hooker Aaron Payne after a great offload from Rauhihi and further tries to Hannay, giving him a 16-point haul for the evening, and Bowen completed the rout.
Cowboys round up Sharks
Jubilant North Queensland broke its season duck in continuing Cronulla's early-season woes with a 36-10 thumping of the Sharks in tonight's National Rugby League mismatch at Toyota Park.
A week after their embarrassing capitulation to South Sydney and still reeling from the subsequent 10-match suspension dished out to five-eighth Greg Bird for kneeing an opponent in the head, the hapless Sharks remained rooted to equal last place on the competition table following their first loss to the Cowboys since 1996.
The six-tries-to-two drubbing was Cronulla's first-ever home loss to the Cowboys and only their second defeat from 15 meetings with the lowly-rated Queenslanders.
Cronulla captain Brett Kimmorley labelled the Sharks' effort "disgraceful" after watching his team fumble its way through the 80-minute horror show.
The marker defence was almost non-existence as the Cowboys made hay around the rucks, leaving Kimmorley and coach Stuart Raper admitting the Sharks were out-muscled, out-manoeuvred and out-enthused.
They didn't need to say outclassed. It was obvious.
"It was disgraceful at the start to turn up with what looked like no interest," Kimmorley said.
The incumbent Test half agreed the situation was getting desperate for the Sharks, whose one-from-five start to the season compares only slightly better than last year when they opened with six straight defeats and failed to recover in finishing 12th.
"We seem to be going down the same path we went down last year," Kimmorley said.
"It's hard to know how we're going to turn it around after the way we walked off tonight.
"The Easter Bunny comes tomorrow. Hopefully he brings a good present."
Classy centre Nigel Vagana had been hailed during the week as Cronulla's saviour. Instead, the Sharks' prize recruit found himself on report for a high tackle on North Queensland opposite Matt Sing during an unhappy debut for the club in his comeback from shoulder surgery.
The Cowboys, by contrast, were ecstatic to have notched their maiden win of the season.
"It's a pretty boisterous (dressing) room," said coach Graham Murray.
"We're off the mark. There was a bit of pressure there not to be off the mark, so that's gone.
"That was more the standard that we aspired to show. We showed we're not a bad football team."
Cronulla's night started terribly when prop Chris Beattie was laid out in a tackle gone wrong on North Queensland counterpart Paul Rauhihi in the second minute.
Beattie's sore and sorry departure left the Sharks without their two frontline props after Jason Stevens was also suspended during the week for tripping in the ill-disciplined performance against Souths.
North Queensland took full advantage of Cronulla's lack of go-forward and error-ridden play to open up a 20-4 halftime lead through tries to lock Glenn Morrison in the eighth minute, interchange utility David Myles (11th) and fullback Matt Bowen (24th) and four goals to centre Josh Hannay.
Cronulla's only points in the first half came from a try to winger Reece Simmons in the 20th minute. :shock: :lol:
The home team briefly threatened a comeback when Kimmorley's conversion of five-eighth Matt Hilder's try soon after the break reduced the deficit to 10 points.
But the Cowboys struck back in the 52nd minute with a try to hooker Aaron Payne after a great offload from Rauhihi and further tries to Hannay, giving him a 16-point haul for the evening, and Bowen completed the rout.
