The Sharks have delivered a stellar performance to down the Cowboys in brutal fashion, beating their opponents 42-6 at Sharks Park.
Will Kennedy was awarded the Paul Green Medal for player of the match, named in honour of the legendary player and coach who tragically passed away aged 49.
Cronulla have now taken top spot on the NRL ladder after seven rounds, with the Storm and Dolphins in second and third.
The onslaught began after an offload from Scott Drinkwater league legend Greg Alexander labelled “terrible”.
The ball dribbled onto the turf and then into the path of fullback Will Kennedy who was able to charge away and score before cult hero Tom Hazelton also got himself on the score sheet.
The next four-pointer came from debutant Sam Stonestreet who scored untouched in front of his friends and family, sharing a special embrace.
Braydon Trindall then scored his first of two tries that came either side of halftime, stunning the North Queensland side on both occasions.
Rondalo Mulitalo scored next, steaming onto a perfect Nicho Hynes pass before the Cowboys finally got a try of their own.
Valentine Holmes flew onto a Chad Townsend kick to score, stemming the flow of Cronulla points for a short period.
But it was the Sharks who hit back once again, with Mulitalo recording his third game with a try double in-a-row.
STONESTREET’S DREAM DEBUT
It was a moment he’ll never forget, with Sharks diehard Sam Stonestreet scoring a try at Shark Park on debut.
The 21-year-old, who earnt his call-up after a suspension to Sione Katoa, had scored 19 tries in his 26 NSW Cup games.
Stonestreet has been a Cronulla fan since he was a young rugby league tragic, going to Sharks games with an autograph book and crying when his beloved club lifted the premiership trophy in 2016.
It’s why it made his four-pointer in the first half all the more important, being embraced by his teammates and members of the public in the crowd.
“Grew up idolising the Sharks and he scores a try… all his family and friends in the corner, the emotion,” Cooper Cronk said.
Sam isn’t the first Stonestreet to play first grade, with grandfather Ken playing 142 games between 1963 and 1972 for Eastern Suburbs and Western Suburbs.
Stonestreet finished the night with 113 running metres, one try, 1 tackle bust and four tackles in an impressive debut.
HYNES’ ORIGIN AUDITION
Could Hynes be the answer at five-eighth for new Blues coach Michael Maguire?
With incumbent Cody Walker out of form and Eels star Mitchell Moses on a long-term injury list, Hynes shapes as a serious contender alongside Jarome Luai to wear the No.6 for Game I.
Hynes’ right boot set up tries for debutant Sam Stonestreet and Braydon Trindall, while the halfback also came up with a superb pass for Mulitalo in the second half.
Should Hynes maintain this form, the Sharks No.7 could well have the opportunity to redeem his disappointing Origin experience of last year when he only had a cameo off the bench.
The gun No.7 told foxsports.com.au in pre-season he was desperate to return to the Origin arena after feeling like he’d “let his teammates down” and “let my state down”.
“It’s the first time I’d felt like that in my footy career, and I took a while to forgive myself and I think when you get over things you need to forgive yourself first,” he said.
“I don’t think I did that and I held onto it for a long time and that’s why it snowballed a little bit. But in hindsight it’s probably the best thing that’s happened to me as a learning and a lesson.”
COWBOYS DEFENSIVE WOES EXPOSED
So relentless was the Sharks’ dominance in the middle that it felt like men against boys for most of the evening, rendering the Cowboys’ forwards powerless.
Veteran forwards Jason Taumalolo and Jordan McLean registered just six carries between them in their opening stints for just 47 metres. McLean’s first touch in his second stint was a dropped ball.
While not alone, their lacklustre showings, could prompt coach Todd Payten into inserting New Zealand representative Griffin Neame in the starting line-up for next week’s clash against Penrith.
But the most damning moment may be Ronaldo Mulitalo’s try midway through the second half, when the Sharks winger was allowed to run along the dead ball line to score under the posts.
Not one Cowboys player attempted to stop Mulitalo scoring wider, exposing North Queensland’s defensive woes.
The Cowboys have now conceded 191 points in seven games, with only the Rabbitohs conceding more with 196, albeit in six appearances.
That’s 27.29 points per game, with a -8 points differential having scored 183 in the same period.
Payten will undoubtedly be focusing on defence this week ahead of a baptism of fire in Round 8 when his side face the Panthers.
