The Cronulla Sharks wingers ran rampant against Wests Tigers, with Ronaldo Mulitalo scoring a hat-trick and Sione Katoa a double in their 56-8 win at PointsBet Stadium.
The Sharks came into the game aiming to avoid a fourth-straight loss and without injured halfback Nicho Hynes who is set to miss the next eight weeks and needed to start well to turn their fortunes around.
They did just that, scoring in the second minute, with in-form centre Kayal Iro going over to set the tone.
While the Tigers were the next to score with Solomona Faataape going over - that was the end of the game as a contest, with the Sharks then piling on the points to claim the win in front of 10, 912 fans.
The Tigers were again left to rue poor discipline, with the side giving up six penalties, three ruck infringements and making 11 errors, while skipper Api Koroisau - who left the match early with a calf injury - also spent time in the sin bin.
Next week, the Sharks will enjoy a week off with a bye, while the Tigers head to Industree Group Stadium in Gosford to take on the Bunnies who will also be aiming to bounce back from a Round 19 loss.
View the full highlights at the NRL YouTube page.
Match: Sharks v Wests Tigers
Round 19 -
home Team
Sharks
3rd Position
away Team
Wests Tigers
17th Position
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
Match Snapshot
- After his hat-trick, Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has scored 36 tries in 32 games at PointsBet Stadium, while fellow winger Sione Katoa has now scored nine tries in his past five games against the Tigers with his double.
- At halftime, the Sharks held a 24-6 lead, despite having only 46 percent of possession, compared to 54 percent to the Tigers. The visitors finished the first half with multiple sets attacking Cronulla's line, only for Jesse Ramien to take an intercept to set up Katoa to score.
- The Sharks have won 11 of their past 13 games against the Tigers.
- The Tigers have not defeated the Sharks twice in the same season since 2014.
- Tigers captain Apisai Koroisau was sin binned midway through the second half for a professional foul, the 14th for the Tigers this season, highlighting their discipline issues.
- Koroisau also left the field early in the second half with a reported calf injury.
- Tiger forward Alex Seyfarth left the field early in the second half of his side's game against the Sharks after suffering a head knock and was unable to return to the game after displaying Category 1 symptoms.
- Sharks forward Jesse Colquhoun also left the field after only four minutes on the field with a suspected ACL injury.
Play of the Game
What They Said
NRL Press Conference: Sharks v Wests Tigers - Round 19, 2024
