A golden point field goal from Nicho Hynes gave the Sharks a 21-20 win over the Rabbitohs in an epic contest at PointsBet Stadium on Saturday night.
After Latrell Mitchell and Matt Moylan missed five shots between them, it was Hynes who delivered in the 87th minute.
With Siosifa Talakai running over and Ronaldo Mulitalo scoring one of the tries of the season, the Sharks rallied from 8-0 down early to record their 13th win of the season.
The Rabbitohs opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Cameron McInnes was penalized for an infringement on the ball and Mitchell powered home the shot for a 2-0 lead.
In the 12th minute it was Alex Johnston heading in for his 22nd try of the season to put Souths 8-0 up before Connor Tracey hit back for the home side in the 20th minute.
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Hynes steps up to win it at Cronulla
A dropped ball from South winger Jaxson Paulo in the 27th minute gave the Sharks a chance to take the lead, but Aiden Tolman made an error in the ball play to let the Rabbitohs slip away.
With the Sharks mounting a raid in the 32nd minute, Wade Graham was caught high by Thomas Burgess and the ensuing penalty goal to Hynes leveled it at 8-8.
Three minutes before the break, the Sharks had the lead when Mulitalo soared through the night sky to tip over a Hynes bomb for his 13th try of the season. Hynes’ conversion made it 14-8.
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Johnston among the top 10 goal scorers of all time
The Rabbitohs came out of the blocks in the second half when Tracey pushed Cody Walker with a perfectly placed scrum and Mitchell pounced on the cut-backs to make it 14-14.
Big moment of the game with 15 minutes to play when McInnes looked to have given the home side the lead but replays showed the ball had come loose from his hands as he tried to stop it.
Andrew Fifita then defended the Sharks as he took four defenders through the line to score, evoking memories of his famous grand final try in 2016. Hynes converted for a 20-14 lead.
With time running out for the Bunnies, Keaon Koloamatangi stole Talakai to give his side one last chance and Tevita Tatola went over by the posts to make it 20-18 and Mitchell converted to set up a final from the stand
The game went to the golden point and a dropped ball from Fifita in Cronulla’s first set gave Mitchell a shot to win the game but he kicked the ball wide.
Moylan then took a field kick for the Sharks but the kick was charged and the Bunnies worked for Mitchell to have another crack from 40 meters which again missed.
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Brute force has the level of bunnies
Another foul from Moylan sent the game into a second period of overtime and a flurry from Burgess gave Mitchell a third shot at victory, but he was sent off again.
More drama in the 87th minute when Burgess was sent off for a high shot on Mulitalo and the Sharks went down the field and Hynes grabbed the win.
Snapshot of the match
- The Sharks lost their captain’s challenge in just the third minute when they contested a call and were unsuccessful.
- South winger Alex Johnston moved into the top 10 all-time on the Test debut list with his first four. Johnston has 158 career tries, the same as Josh Morris and just one behind Hazem El Masri. Topping the list is Ken Irvine with 212.
- Daniel Suluka-Fifita started a game for the first time in his career and went 67 meters on seven runs in a 17-minute span before making way for Thomas Burgess.
- Rabbitohs interchange forward Thomas Burgess was booked in the 32nd minute for a high tackle on Wade Graham, who was sent off for a passing HIA.
- The Rabbitohs lost their captain’s challenge in the 33rd minute when they challenged an escort call on Cody Walker and came up empty.
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Fifita at his best!
- Thomas Burgess left the field for a HIA in the 51st minute after a head-on collision with Teig Wilton.
- Siosifa Talakai was immense in attack for the Sharks with 225 meters from 22 runs.
- Andrew Fifita’s second-half try was his first since Round 8 2020 against the Gold Coast. The forward left the field soon after for a HIA that happened and was able to return for a golden point.
- Keaon Koloamatangi continued his fine season for Souths with 161 meters from 19 runs.
- Thomas Burgess was sent off in the 87th minute for a high tackle on Ronaldo Mulitalo.
- The Rabbitohs have not won at PointsBet Stadium since Round 11 in 2014.
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Latrell right where it should be
game of the game
Ronaldo Mulitalo made an incredible leap to catch a Nicho Hynes bomb and land in the shadow of the break to give Cronulla the lead for the first time. The try was Mulitalo’s 13th in 12 games at PointsBet Stadium and showcased the uncanny athletic abilities that have made him a cult hero with the Sharks faithful. In 57 career games, the 22-year-old has already racked up 40 tries with plenty more to come.
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Mulitalo goes into orbit!
what they said
“I thought we handled overtime pretty well, we just didn’t take our chances, obviously… [Latrell] it’s dirty, that [field goals] it’s a time he nails many times and is disappointed. But it’s not up to him, there were 80 minutes of standing before we got to this point.” – Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou.
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