Sharks Shut-Out Panthers 18-0
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A re-invented Cronulla Sharks has broken a 10 game losing streak, with Ricky Stuarts men keeping a clean sheet at Toyota Park.
On difficult night for free-flowing football, with the southerly blowing and the rain falling, the Sharks turned on a tremendous defensive performance, shutting down the Panthers in a performance which pleased new coach Ricky Stuart.
It was the first time the Sharks had kept a team scoreless since round 23 of the 1999 season, when they defeated the Wests Tigers by 46-0.
“It’s only the first game but I was very happy with the performance,” Sharks coach Ricky Stuart said. “We did a lot of the little things right, the things we’ve practiced.
“We’ve had our knockers in the off-season. They were saying Kimmorley and Dykes can’t play together, we’ve lost however many games it is in a row, so this win was important to start to build our confidence.”
The match was something of an arm wrestle, with the conditions contributing to what was a defensive struggle. The Sharks defended grimly when it was required, limited their errors and controlled the ball and kicked intelligently with the wind at their backs.
In the first half there were very few genuine scoring opportunities, with the Sharks first points of the new season coming from a brilliantly worked set play from a scrum.
Winning the ball inside the Panthers quarter line, Greg Bird picked the ball up at the base of the scrum, wandered sideways, before turning and passing inside to Brett Kearney who ran into a yawning hole in the Penrith defence to touch down adjacent to the posts. Luke Covell added the extras and the Sharks were ahead by 6-0.
With the visitors enjoying the benefits of a strong wind at their backs the Panthers managed to camp in the Sharks defensive end of the field, however showing a resolve in defence missing in recent seasons, the Sharks scrambled and held on, repelling their opponents for three successive sets of six tackles.
Neither team was able to assert their authority on the match, with the Sharks going to the break ahead by just a converted try.
After the Panthers botched the kick-off to restart the second half, with the ball bouncing dead in goal, a penalty to the Sharks for a lifting tackle on Bird was potted over from close range by Covell and the Sharks would stretch their advantage to eight points.
The momentum would then swing the other way, with the Panthers again dominating possession and pressing the Sharks try line, but again the Sharks managed to hold firm.
Another Covell penalty goal in the 57th minute put the Sharks further ahead at 10-0 before another set move resulted in the second try of the night to Kearney.
Skipper Brett Kimmorley switched the point of the attack before a perfectly timed pass from Isaac De Gois saw Kearney burst through a hole and scoot 25 metres to score. Covell’s conversion attempt was waved away but the Sharks had built a match winning 14-0 lead.
In putting the icing on the cake the Sharks scored in the dying moments, with Covell capping off a solid performance on the wing by touching down after a well-weighted kick from Bird.
In a team full of stars, the Sharks were probably best served by Kearney at fullback, Bird at lock and Kimmorley at half back. Reece Williams and Lance Thompson put in 80-minute performances, while Ben Ross and Craig Stapleton were strong up front.
At the post-match presentation Kearney was awarded the player’s player, while Bird took out the Chairman’s Award.
In the lower grade the Sharks suffered two losses, with the Premier League going down 34-26 in a high scoring affair, while the Jersey Flegg were gallant in defeat against last years Flegg premiers, losing by 11-4.
The best player awards in the lower grades went to Andrew Fox in Jersey Flegg and Henry Perenara in Premier League.
SHARKS 18
Brett Kearney 2, Luke Covell tries, Luke Covell 3 goals
Defeated the
PANTHERS 0
