CRONULLA SHARKS 30 ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 18
TOM SMITH, Sharks Stadium, Thursday
SIONE KATOA’S late brace sealed Cronulla’s stirring comeback over St George Illawarra in the southern Sydney local derby.
The Dragons led 18-6 at half-time after Grant Atkins sin-binned Jesse Ramien for a professional foul in the 31st minute.
But the Sharks piled on four second-half tries – including two to Katoa, plus a second for stand-off Braydon Trindall – to seal their tenth straight victory over their arch-rivals.
Prop Addin Fonua-Blake led the way again in the middle, hooker Blayke Brailey was a menace out of dummy-half, while wide men Ramien and Ronaldo Mulitalo caused the Saints constant headaches.
The fighting win shores up the Sharks’ spot in the top eight following two straight losses.
Craig Fitzgibbon continues his excellent record over the club he once represented as a player, leaving Shane Flanagan still waiting for his first win over the outfit he led to their one and only premiership in 2016.
St George Illawarra’s rocks-or-diamonds season continued with a brutal 56-6 demolition at the hands of the Dolphins in Brisbane six days earlier.
Flanagan lost Valentine Holmes to State of Origin duty, handing an NRL debut to Nick Tsougranis. Christian Tuipulotu (hamstring), Raymond Faitala-Mariner (illness) and Blake Lawrie (18th man) went out for Tyrell Sloan, Emre Guler and Hame Sele.
Cronulla’s campaign wobbled in recent weeks, with thumping losses to the Roosters (42-16) and Warriors (40-10) either side of a round-13 bye.
Craig Fitzgibbon swapped KL Iro (pectoral) for Ronaldo Mulitalo back from suspension, while Toby Rudolf made an eleventh-hour return from an ankle complaint at the expense of Daniel Atkinson.
It looked like a third straight loss was on the cards when the Red Vee started strongly in enemy territory.
The hosts did score first when Brailey strolled through from dummy-half and linked up with
Trindall.
But the Saints soon seized the ascendency.
Brailey’s opposite number Damien Cook showed off some sizzling footwork to score his first try of 2025.
Then rookie five-eighth Lyhkan King-Togia wriggled through a web of black, white and blue jumpers from close range.
Things got worse when Ramien was given ten minutes for cynically holding down Clint Gutherson while his defence scrambled back following a Nicho Hynes error.
And the Dragons capitalised via Jack De Belin to head to the sheds up by twelve.
But the Sharks swung the momentum after the restart.
Briton Nikora celebrated his 150th NRL appearance with a signature try, before Trindall regathered his own kick – mishandled by Gutherson and Sloan at the back – to snatch his second.
From a scrum, Katoa surged through the stretched St George Illawarra defence to put the hosts ahead by four.
A controversial early-tackle penalty against David Klemmer extended the margin to six courtesy of Hynes’ boot.
Then Katoa cemented the result with a superb solo try, putting his body on the line to snuff out King-Togia’s chip-and-chase, before galloping 55 metres to touch down in the right corner.
GAMESTAR: Sione Katoa grabbed two late tries, on top of a game-high 274 running metres.
GAMEBREAKER: Katoa wrapped up the win with a superb piece of skill, blocking a dangerous Lyhkan King-Togia chip then sprinting 55 metres to score himself.
MATCHFACTS
SHARKS
1 Will Kennedy
2 Sione Katoa
3 Jesse Ramien
4 Mawene Hiroti
5 Ronaldo Mulitalo
6 Braydon Trindall
7 Nicho Hynes
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Blayke Brailey
10 Oregon Kaufusi
11 Briton Nikora
12 Teig Wilton
13 Cameron McInnes
Subs (all used)
15 Jesse Colquhoun
16 Siosifa Talakai
17 Braden Hamlin-Uele
21 Toby Rudolf
Tries: Trindall (10, 54), Nikora (49), Katoa (57, 75)
Goals: Hynes 5/6
Sin bin: Ramien (31) – professional foul
DRAGONS
1 Clint Gutherson
2 Nathan Lawson
3 Moses Suli
21 Nick Tsougranis
5 Tyrell Sloan
6 Lyhkan King-Togia
7 Kyle Flanagan
8 Emre Guler
9 Damien Cook
10 David Klemmer
11 Luciano Leilua
12 Toby Couchman
13 Jack De Belin
Subs (all used)
14 Jacob Liddle
15 Hamish Stewart
16 Loko Pasifiki Tonga
17 Hame Sele
Tries: Cook (16), King-Togia (26), De Belin (33)
Goals: Flanagan 3/3
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 6-12, 6-18; 12-18, 18-18, 22-18, 24-18, 30-18
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Sharks: Sione Katoa; Dragons: Damien Cook
Penalty count: 6-4
Half-time: 6-18
Referee: Grant Atkins
Attendance: 8,573