Three straight wins for Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have recovered from a slow start to overrun Cronulla at Toyota Park and enter the NRL top eight.
In wet and windy conditions, Cronulla were dominant in the first half against an ill disciplined Bulldogs side, however the Sharks crossed just once, opening up a 12-nil lead on the back of Luke Covell, who scored all of Cronulla’s points via a try in the tenth minute and four goals.
The comeback run started when Willie Tonga found a gap in the 55th minute, before firing a superb pass to Andrew Ryan. The Dogs reduced the gap further eight minutes later when Cameron Phelps brilliantly collected a Brent Sherwin kick and somehow managed to plant the ball before being dragged over the touch in goal line. Hazem El Mazri’s rare conversion miss kept the Sharks in front, until Daryl Millard crossed with twelve minutes remaining. The pivotal try needed several replays, with Sonny Bill Williams final flick pass appearing to have been knocked away by Fraser Anderson from the Sharks.
Cronulla had their chances to win the game in the final stages, however fatigue was clearly a factor as their attack was ineffective. It continues a trend for the Sharks of dropping close matches. “Very frustrating. I think that’s about seven or eight times we’ve lost by a couple of points.”, said Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart.
Kane Cleal was taken to hospital with a suspected broken jaw, the result of a dubious tackle from Ben Ross. The unflappable Steve Folkes was even more downbeat than usual, despite the win.
“Neither team seemed overly enthusiastic.”
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