SYDNEY ROOSTERS 27 CRONULLA SHARKS 8
TOM SMITH, Allianz Stadium, Sunday

MARK NAWAQANITAWASE collected his second double in four days to lead the Roosters to a crucial victory over top-eight rival Cronulla.

The Sharks were buoyed by the return of halfback Nicho Hynes from a calf injury and hooker Blayke Brailey from a broken arm, and were well and truly in the contest when wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Sione Katoa crossed either side of half-time. 

But days after his standout performance on State of Origin debut, Nawaqanitawase bagged another brace to secure two competition points that put the Chooks back in the top four. 

Nawaqanitawase’s head-to-head tussle with opposite number Mulitalo was the highlight of the evening. 

Enforcer Naufahu Whyte laid the platform in the middle with 204 damaging running metres, while stand-off Daly Cherry-Evans set up two tries. Nawaqanitawase’s New South Wales team-mate James Tedesco also put in another big shift. 

The first meeting of these sides at this venue completed the Roosters’ 2026 double over the Sharks, having beaten them 34-22 in round six. The result also snaps Cronulla’s four-game winning streak. 

The Roosters came into this match having lost three of their last four, including a last-start thrashing at the hands of the Dolphins minus their long list of Origin stars. 

Trent Robinson named Blues Nawaqanitawase, Tedesco, Reece Robson and Victor Radley plus Maroons Robert Toia, Sam Walker and Lindsay Collins to retake their place in the red, white and blue here. 

Craig Fitzgibbon – coaching against the club where he made his name as a player – also added Origin pair Addin Fonua-Blake and Briton Nikora to the team that snatched a low-scoring win over the Warriors the Saturday prior. 

And Cronulla received a huge boost when final line-ups were named 90 minutes before kick-off, with Hynes and Brailey back in and Roosters back-rower Angus Crichton dropping out with a calf complaint. 

Braydon Trindall denied Nawaqanitawase the first try, allowing a much less likely player to open the scoring. 

Collins broke Cronulla’s line then linked up with Cherry-Evans and Tedesco for a razzle-dazzle four-pointer. 

Nawaqanitawase beat Mulitalo to Cherry-Evans’ bomb to gift Toia the next try. 

Then a brilliant Nawaqanitawase offload created space for Connor Watson and Walker to send England World Cup prospect Billy Smith diving over from close range. 

The Sharks rolled the dice on a short restart and came up trumps, giving the visitors the territory to produce their first try via Mulitalo off a looping Trindall cut-out. 

Then on the other side of the half-time break, Hynes speared another long pass to the unmarked Katoa to shave the margin to six points. 

A ruck infringement by Will Kennedy gave Walker two points, before Nawaqanitawase leapt over his opposite number to collect a probing Cherry-Evans cross-field kick. 

Cherry-Evans booted a drop-goal to extend the lead to 13 points. 

Then after Nawaqanitawase denied Mulitalo in the left corner, the star winger charged over up the other end to complete the Tricolours’ comprehensive win. 

GAMESTAR: Four days after his impressive Origin bow, Mark Nawaqanitawase scored two late tries to put the game to bed, on top of his 215 running metres and four tackle breaks. 

GAMEBREAKER: Getting the last laugh in his running battle with Ronaldo Mulitalo, Nawaqanitawase’s second four-pointer with two minutes remaining put an exclamation mark on the Roosters’ victory. 

MATCHFACTS

ROOSTERS
1 James Tedesco
2 Tommy Talau
3 Billy Smith
4 Robert Toia
5 Mark Nawaqanitawase
6 Daly Cherry-Evans
7 Sam Walker
8 Naufahu Whyte
9 Reece Robson
10 Lindsay Collins
12 Siua Wong
16 Nat Butcher
13 Victor Radley
Subs
14 Connor Watson
15 Spencer Leniu
17 Salesi Foketi
18 Rex Bassingthwaighte (not used)
19 Toby Rodwell (not used)
22 Egan Butcher

Tries: Collins (15), Toia (28), Smith (35), Nawaqanitawase (64, 79)
Goals: Walker 3/6
Field-goals: Cherry-Evans (72)

SHARKS
1 Will Kennedy
2 Sione Katoa
3 Jesse Ramien
4 KL Iro
5 Ronaldo Mulitalo
6 Braydon Trindall
22 Nicho Hynes
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
21 Blayke Brailey
10 Jesse Colquhoun
11 Briton Nikora
12 Teig Wilton
13 Cameron McInnes
Subs
14 Billy Burns
15 Oregon Kaufusi (not used)
16 Siosifa Talakai
17 Thomas Hazelton
18 Hohepa Puru
19 Mawene Hiroti (not used)

Tries: Mulitalo (39), Katoa (43)
Goals: Hynes 0/2

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 8-0, 14-0, 14-4; 14-8, 16-8, 20-8, 21-8, 27-8

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Roosters: Mark Nawaqanitawase; Sharks: Teig Wilton

Penalty count: 9-4
Half-time: 14-4
Referee: Ashley Klein
Attendance: 20,021