Match Report: Round 22 vs Cronulla Sharks

Cronulla piled on 26 first half points and Wests Tigers were unable to run down their opponents in a tight second forty.

The visitors wasted no time in registering their first points as Lachie Miller claimed a Nicho Hynes kick in the 5th minute.

Cronulla then doubled their lead in near-identical fashion on the opposite side of the field, with Braydon Trindall finding Matt Ikuvalu with a well-weighted grubber.

An error on the ensuing set halted the Sharks’ momentum and invited Wests Tigers onto the attack for the first time in the match.

James Tamou generated a quick play-the-ball for his side and Fa’amanu Brown took advantage by barging over for his fifth try of the season.

Daine Laurie had a strong first half in defence, stopping three tries with one-on-one tackles against much larger opponents.

However, he couldn’t stop Royce Hunt from re-establishing the Sharks’ twelve-point lead with a barnstorming run.

Kade Dykes then scored the first try of his young career, before Nicho Hynes kicked a penalty goal to push the lead to 20 points.

The second half started in much tighter fashion, with neither side troubling the scorers for the first fifteen minutes.

Braden Hamlin-Uele eventually broke the deadlock before Fonua Pole stepped up to spark his side’s attack with a fine offload to Luke Garner.

Garner beat Kade Dykes to the try-line to claim his fifth try in his last ten games.

Jesse Ramien increased his side’s lead with a try in the 61st minute, before Teig Wilton was sent to the sin-bin for a late hit on Daine Laurie.

Brent Naden was awarded a try in the following set, but it was denied by the Bunker.

Wests Tigers were unable to convert the man-advantage into points, and the deficit remained at 24 points until the full time siren.

Despite the result, Brett Kimmorley’s men have enjoyed a terrific week in Tamworth interacting with fans and running several clinics in the local community.

They will now return to Sydney to focus on next Saturday’s match against the Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground.