The last-placed Gold Coast Titans fell to a straight eight-game loss to the Cronulla Sharks, losing 18-10 in a pitiful affair.
In a buggy carnival in Coffs Harbor, the Sharks slowly started again before scoring two goals in quick succession. The Titans hit with a 60-yard try, before a Greg Marzhew acrobatic finish made it 10-10 in the first half.
The Sharks seemed to be on the rise, but failed to turn that on the scoreboard, and did not finish three good chances to score at the end of the first half.
It was far from a beautiful first half, with two teams losing 19 tackles each. The Sharks made 10 mistakes on all four of the Titan and completed just 13 of 21 sets (62%), while the Titans completed 13 of 19 (68%).
The Sharks caused the Titans to pay early in the second half for another bad decision after Toby Sexton stopped going down unnecessarily to be tackled in his goal area, and Blayke Brailey scored in the repeated set.
The Sharks overturned the Titans during the second half, but both teams continued to make mistakes. A Nicho Hynes penalty kicked the score to 18-10, before the Titans ruled out a 95-meter try on the bell.
For the Sharks, it was a bad win, but a win nonetheless. “I think they will be very disappointed,” Benji Marshall told Fox League after the game.
Midfielder Nicho Hynes, after accumulating his 50th NRL game, said coach Craig Fitzgibbons would not be too impressed with his poor performance.
“I don’t think he’s too happy. We picked him and in the end we got the win … but you can’t criticize the boys’ effort and he’ll be happy with that.”
“But if we’re going to compete with the best teams in the competition, we have to be much better,” Hynes added.
“We are giving away stupid penalties in our own end when we are getting good kicks, and we are only making downloads, stupid mistakes. We have to look very good at ourselves, review these areas and stop doing this nonsense in order to beat the best teams “.
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MATCH CENTER: Sharks vs Titans teams, SuperCoach results, videos, updates
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HOW IT HAPPENED
9TH MINUTE: Jamayne Isaako made a try, bursting his own line to wrap Will Kennedy and force a blow when the Sharks had a free end on the left. But the Titans unloaded very risky through Greg Marzhew from their own 10m line, and after being attacked on goal, the Titans returned the ball through a drop-out.
11TH MINUTE: Sione Katoa made 11 tries for the season with a brilliant touch on his right side, with Katoa beating his defender back inside. There are now six attempts in his last five games. Kennedy leads the NRL in line jump assists.
“It was poetry in motion for Cronulla,” Brenton Speed said in a comment to the Fox League.
15th MINUTE: Matt Moylan took a massive step to catch the Titans taking a nap on his defensive line, with Moylan – who turned 31 on Thursday – turning back the clock and playing as a winger. Was Moylan’s fifth attempt against the Titans, but the first since 2017.
19th MINUTE:
The Sharks were caught halfway with a lack of numbers on the short side, and Beau Fermor sprinted across the line and made a wonderful gesture to block Will Kennedy and ran home to score the try. 60 m.
25TH MINUTE:
The Sharks turned the ball in their own half and were burned by another mistake when the Titans came out deflected and Greg Marzhew acrobatically threw himself into the corner. It was his 12th attempt in 19 NRL games. Co-captain Finucane was immediately replaced by Toby Rudolf.
There were some concerns on the pitch, with Marzhew just slipping the ball past the keeper.
COFFS HARBOR, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 18: Greg Marzhew of the Titans scores a try during the NRL Round 15 match between the Cronulla Sharks and the Gold Coast Titans on June 18, 2022 in Coffs Harbor, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
MINUTE 36:
Will Kennedy hit a tackle nearly halfway through the next 60 yards and looked set to prepare for a try for teammate Ronaldo Mulitalo when they faced off against the Titans winger AJ Brimson. his pass was too far from Mulitalo. This allowed Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in retreat to face Mulitalo, but somehow avoided a sin when he prevented the Sharks star from regaining his feet and playing ball.
Coffs Harbor fans roared, believing that Fa’asuamaleaui would receive a penalty for his actions.
Speed said: “It used to be an automatic sin-bin, but it hasn’t happened in the last few weeks … fans were expecting it.”
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was lucky to avoid punishment. Source: FOX SPORTS
In the same set, Matt Moylan was denied a double for Teig Wilton by obstructing Patrick Herbert, sparking the fury of NRL experts and fans.
Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach said in a comment to Fox League: “They were lucky enough to get away with it because two players had a chance to make an entry and both failed.”
MINUTE 38: Sione Katoa then had a third chance at scoring, but a last ditch challenge made sure that he didnt.
45th MINUTE: Nicho Hynes held the ball, with a clear 27 minutes into the match. Toby Sexton made a terrible decision to try to take a step towards a Sharks defender and was punished for being attacked again in his goal area. After the abandonment, the Sharks made the Titans pay.
Teig Wilton broke the line and then left it to Blayke Brailey, 23, who held the pass brilliantly at full speed to mark the 10th attempt of his career. The conversion was made on 16-10.
59th MINUTE:
The Titans were “flat” and “tired” in a poor start to the second half, and a sloppy high entrance 20 yards from their line led Nicho Hynes to convert a penalty.
Speaking of the Titans, Roach said, “They’re standing.”
Jesse Ramien was reported for this elbow. Source: FOX SPORTS
68th MINUTE:
After being approached by Beau Fermor, Jesse Ramien appeared twice to elbow Beau Fermor as he stood up again.
But a penalty was thrown to the other side.
Speed said, “The Titans’ discipline dropped them again in the last inning. Can you believe it ?!”
But a furious Fermor convinced his captain to challenge him, and he succeeded.
“It’s an accident,” Roach said.
Speed replied, “I don’t think so.”
73rd MINUTE:
The Sharks again bombarded what looked like an easy attempt, when Jesse Ramien had Sione Katoa on the outside and in space, only to bring down the ball unfortunately.
Jesse Ramien was reported for a strange elbow. Source: FOX SPORTS
80th MINUTE:
Jarrod Wallace took a neat kick from Nicho Hynes five meters from his own line, then delivered a brilliant pass to Greg Marzhew, who ran 90 meters – and overcame an attempt to tackle Sione Katoa in the process. mark after time has elapsed. But the Bunker somehow found a blow from the Sharks at the beginning of the play and ruled out the attempt.
Shark team: 1. Will Kennedy 2. Sione Katoa 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nicho Hynes 8. Toby Rudolph 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Royce Hunt 11. British Nikora 12. Wade Graham Cameron McInnes 14. Aiden Tolman 15. Braydon Trindall 16. Teig Wilton 19. Dale Finucane. 18th man: 18. Connor Tracey
Team of the Titans: 1. AJ Brimson 2. Greg Marzhew 3. Brian Kelly 4. Patrick Herbert 5. Jamayne Isaac 6. Paul Turner 7. Toby Sexton 8. Jarrod Wallace 9. Erin Clark 10. Isaac Liu 11. Sam McIntyre 12. Beau Fermor 14. Tanah Boyd 15. Moeaki Fotuaika 16. Jaimin Jolliffe 17. Sam Lisone. 18th man: 18. White plate
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PREVIEW
The Titans welcome AJ Brimson (Covid-19 protocols), though David Fifita and Jayden Campbell remain on the sidelines.
The Gold Coast showed promising signs last week against South Sydney, but are still struggling to muster the full 80 minutes, losing 30-16 in the end.
Despite being fifth in the standings, the Sharks have also lacked consistency over the past month, suffering heavy losses to the Raiders and Roosters.
Even last week, while Cronulla finished well above the Warriors, Craig Fitzgibbon would have been less than impressed with the slow start that saw the Sharks fall behind 12-0.
The Sharks welcome skipper Dale Finucane, who is returning from a knee injury.
Brisbane’s 32-20 defeat to Melbourne on Friday night means Cronulla can return to the top four with a win on Saturday.
The Sharks won the last match (Round 11) between these two sides by 25-18.