Hynes shines as Sharks rally late to topple Roosters
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A burst of brilliance from Nicho Hynes late has helped the Sharks to a hard-fought 22-12 win over the Roosters at PointsBet Stadium on Friday night.
Fresh after signing a lifetime deal with the Sharks until the end of 2029, Hynes stepped up when it mattered to send Blayke Brailey over the line to break a 12-12 deadlock with 10 minutes remaining.
He then helped the Sharks gain further momentum for Braden Hamlin-Uele to bust up the middle before Brailey sent Briton Nikora over the line in the following play.
It was an important win for Hynes and the home side, who were coming off the bye and the shock loss to the Warriors in Round 5.
The match couldn't have ended any more poorly for the Roosters, who lost Brandon Smith and Victor Radley to the bin late for ill-discipline.
Hynes steps up
Cronulla took advantage of a 12-man Roosters outfit to take an 8-0 lead early when Nat Butcher was placed on report and sin-binned for an alleged hip-drop tackle on Sharks back-rower Briton Nikora.
A penalty goal put the Sharks up by two before Matt Moylan cut back on the inside of the play to cross next to the posts.
The Roosters though hit back while down a man in with Luke Keary sending Egan Butcher over on the left edge. They then took the lead through Brandon Smith when he burrowed his way to the line as momentum shifted in the first half.
Cronulla hit back to level the scores after half-time with Ronaldo Mulitalo finishing off a Nikora run across field that created some space for the Sharks winger to dive over in the corner.
Match: Sharks v Roosters
Round 7 -
home Team
Sharks
7th Position
away Team
Roosters
9th Position
Venue: PointsBet Stadium, Sydney
Match snapshot
- Roosters forward Nat Butcher was placed on report and sin-binned for an alleged hip-drop tackle on Briton Nikora in the 14th minute.
- Cronulla's win over the Roosters was their first at PointsBet Stadium since 2016. They also broke a seven-game losing streak against the Tricolours.
- Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has now scored 17 tries in 17 games at PointsBet Stadium.
- The Sharks completed 39 of 50 sets with seven line breaks and 43 tackle busts in the win.
- Sharks veteran Wade Graham (suspension) and Oregon Kaufusi (concussion) made successful returns, as did James Tedesco (concussion) and Matt Lodge (facial fracture).
- Brandon Smith (high tackle) and Victor Radley (professional foul) were sin-binned late in the match.
- It was Cronulla's first home win of 2023 after losses previously to the Rabbitohs and Warriors.
- Blayke Brailey was enormous for the home side with a try, try assist, 93 metres and 45 tackles.
Play of the game
In a game where there was only a coat of paint in it for at least three tries, the effort from Ronaldo Mulitalo to keep his foot inside the white stripe helped swing momentum in the second half.
Ronaldo takes flight
What they said
"There were three sin-binnings in the end but I don't think we were that ill-disciplined. At 12-12 I thought we were in the battle. We were on the back foot after the first sin-binning and got the try to get it to 8-6. I thought to get a lead was really good. We had a couple of good opportunities and then they took that short side with Nicho. It's disappointing... Lindsay's try was disappointing. He was 100% sure he scored it." - Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
"It was a celebration of effort. We had two weeks to prepare for tonight. We prepared hard and strong. That was the feel and reward for effort. The show of faith from the club to have the [Nicho Hynes] extension locked in is a sign of what we think of him and how much we believe in him. Every day he walks in the door he works hard. It's good for the club to have that." - Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
NRL Press Conference: Sharks v Roosters - Round 7, 2023
What's next
The Sharks will prepare for Canterbury with an eight-day turnaround scheduled for Craig Fitzgibbon's men.
The Roosters have an even bigger turnaround ahead of their annual ANZAC Day clash with the Dragons. All eyes will be on the returns of Angus Crichton and Nathan Brown in reserve grade this weekend as they edge closer to NRL comebacks.
