CRONULLA SHARKS 54 GOLD COAST TITANS 22
TOM SMITH, Sharks Stadium, Saturday
NICHO HYNES, Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo all bagged braces as Cronulla pounded the Gold Coast to keep their top-eight plans on track.
Centre Mawene Hiroti also enjoyed a day out, assisting three tries and registering 214 running metres.
A knee injury to skipper Cam McInness took some gloss of the thumping win.
Bolstered by the return of captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (knee), Moeaki Fotuaika (illness), Phillip Sami (concussion) and Keano Kini (neck), the Titans led 10-6 with a quarter of the game gone.
But the Sharks then ran in nine tries in 43 minutes to put Gold Coast to the sword.
Hynes regathered his own chip for the opener, although the Titans shot ahead once Tony Francis’ intercept supplied Jaylan De Groot and Kieran Foran and AJ Brimson combined to release Beau Fermor.
From there, it was a black, white and blue onslaught.
Jesse Colquhoun gobbled a loose Braydon Trindall bomb for his first NRL try, Hiroti assisted Hynes’ second, Trindall regathered another mishandled kick and Hiroti kicked for Will Kennedy before the break.
After the restart, Mulitalo found the left corner twice in five minutes then Katoa did the same down his right flank, with Tuku Hau Tapuha crashing over in between.
Sami’s intercept and Josh Patston’s barge-over gave the badly-beaten Titans some consolation.
SHARKS: 1 Will Kennedy, 2 Sione Katoa, 3 Mawene Hiroti, 4 Siosifa Talakai, 5 Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6 Braydon Trindall, 7 Nicho Hynes, 8 Addin Fonua-Blake, 9 Blayke Brailey, 10 Toby Rudolf, 11 Billy Burns, 12 Teig Wilton, 13 Cam McInnes. Subs (all used): 15 Jesse Colquhoun, 16 Thomas Hazelton, 18 Tuku Hau Tapuha, 19 Hohepa Puru
Tries: Hynes (4, 26), Colquhoun (23), Trindall (32), Kennedy (39), Mulitalo (51, 55), Katoa (60, 66), Hau Tapuha (64); Goals: Hynes 7/10
TITANS: 1 AJ Brimson, 2 Jaylan De Groot, 3 Phillip Sami, 12 Beau Fermor, 5 Tony Francis, 6 Kieran Foran, 7 Jayden Campbell, 8 Moeaki Fotuaika, 9 Sam Verrills, 10 Jaimin Jolliffe, 11 Chris Randall, 17 Josh Patston, 13 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. Subs (all used): 15 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 16 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui, 18 Keano Kini, 19 Jacob Alick-Wiencke
Tries: De Groot (14), Fermor (16), Sami (72), Patston (76); Goals: Campbell 3/4
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 6-10, 12-10, 18-10, 22-10, 28-10; 34-10, 40-10, 44-10, 50-10, 54-10, 54-16, 54-22
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Sharks: Nicho Hynes; Titans: Jayden Campbell
Penalty count: 4-4; Half-time: 28-10; Referee: Peter Gough; Attendance: 10,112