It was all the home side when Newcastle hosted Cronulla at Hunter Stadium in Round 23 last season, with the visitors having no answer to the Knights’ onslaught to register a 26-4 defeat.
With a team near full strength, sixth-placed Cronulla were expected to put in a good showing against ninth-placed Newcastle, but the home side dominated on the back of Jarrod Mullen, who scored the opening try and had a major hand in three others, in the five-tries-to-one rout. Winger Akuila Uate was also dominant, scoring a try and running for a team-high 165 metres, busting seven tackles in the process.
Perhaps the most telling stat to come out of the game was the missed tackles count, with the Sharks missing almost double their opponents (43-25).