CRONULLA SHARKS 10 NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 40
TOM SMITH, Sharks Stadium, Saturday
ADDIN FONUA-BLAKE’S first match against his old team-mates ended in a runaway victory for the Warriors.
Both sides entered this clash entrenched in the top eight and knowing the battle of the forwards would hold the key, particularly the match-up between Fonua-Blake and his old side.
The New Zealand club eventually won the arm wrestle against their former enforcer, piling on five second-half tries including two to stand-off Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Ex-Panther and Warriors skipper James Fisher-Harris led the way for the Aucklanders, while Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad racked up 242 running metres at the back.
Gun young forwards Demitric Vaimauga and Leka Halasima also lit up the second half with crucial scores.
In a bright spot for the Sharks, centre KL Iro continued his remarkable run of tries to start the season, crossing for the ninth straight match – but the Cook Islands international came off early in the second half with a pectoral issue.
Fresh off the bye, Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon welcomed back Teig Wilton from shoulder injury, forcing Billy Burns out of the 17, while Sione Katoa replaced the suspended Ronaldo Mulitalo on the flank.
Warriors boss Andrew Webster lost NSW Origin prop Mitch Barnett to a devastating torn ACL and Rocco Berry to a hamstring suffered in last Sunday’s high-scoring win over South Sydney, shuffling ex-Shark Kurt Capewell to centre and making room for Jacob Laban and Tanner Stowers-Smith.
A hip injury to hooker Wayde Egan also brought Sam Healey into the starting side against the club his dad Mitch represented on 222 occasions.
Fonua-Blake and Fisher-Harris locked horns with the very first carry of the match, before Dallin Watene-Zelezniak got the Warriors on the board first, soaring for a Luke Metcalf chip.
The Sharks mounted a heap of pressure before Wilton’s reply was chalked off for a Braydon Trindall obstruction – and the Warriors scored off the boot again, this time through Adam Pompey courtesy of Harris-Tavita.
Mawene Hiroti turned some Cronulla momentum into four points, and Nicho Hynes’ cross-field kick supplied Iro before the break.
But Briton Nikora’s late tackle invited Metcalf to kick a penalty-goal in between to secure the Aucklanders’ 12-10 half-time lead.
After the restart, the contest was entirely one-way traffic.
Fisher-Harris surprised even his team-mates by snatching a Vaimauga short ball to score.
And after Iro spilled the Steeden within sight of the whitewash – sparking a melee – Metcalf sent Vaimauga streaking away.
Halasima flew for a Harris-Tavita bomb to add the New Zealand side’s next score.
Then the stand-off capped a stand-out performance with two late tries: the first dummying his through some tired Sharks defence, the second snatching a Hynes pass to sprint 90 metres for an intercept four-pointer.
The result tightens the Warriors’ grip on a top-four spot, and adds distance between the Sharks and the NRL’s front-runners.
The New Zealanders continue their strong form across the Tasman, having won six of their last seven visits to Australia.
GAMESTAR: Chanel Harris-Tavita scored two tries and set up two others for the Warriors.
GAMEBREAKER: Harris-Tavita’s second try – a 90-metre intercept – sealed the thumping New Zealand win.
MATCHFACTS
SHARKS
1 Will Kennedy
2 Sione Katoa
3 Jesse Ramien
4 KL Iro
5 Mawene Hiroti
6 Braydon Trindall
7 Nicho Hynes
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Blayke Brailey
10 Oregon Kaufusi
11 Briton Nikora
12 Teig Wilton
13 Cam McInnes
Subs (all used)
14 Daniel Atkinson
15 Jesse Colquhoun
16 Siosifa Talakai
17 Braden Hamlin-Uele
Tries: Hiroti (23), Iro (34)
Goals: Hynes 1/2
WARRIORS
1 Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
3 Adam Pompey
4 Kurt Capewell
5 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
6 Chanel Harris-Tavita
7 Luke Metcalf
8 James Fisher-Harris
20 Samuel Healey
12 Marata Niukore
11 Leka Halasima
15 Jacob Laban
13 Erin Clark
Subs (all used)
10 Jackson Ford
14 Te Maire Martin
16 Demitric Vaimauga
17 Tanner Stowers-Smith
Tries: Watene-Zelezniak (6), Pompey (15), Fisher-Harris (42), Vaimauga (55), Halasima (59), Harris-Tavita (67, 77)
Goals: Metcalf 6/8
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 0-10, 6-10, 6-12, 10-12; 10-18, 10-24, 10-30, 10-36, 10-40
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Sharks: Addin Fonua-Blake; Warriors: Chanel Harris-Tavita
Penalty count: 6-6
Half-time: 10-12
Referee: Peter Gough