Sharks

Sharks bite Sea Eagles

Cronulla wrecking ball Siosifa Talakai was virtually unstoppable in the first half as he scored two tries and laid on three others in arguably the best 40 minute display by any player this season as the Sharks raced to a 32-0 half-time lead.

The Sydney-born Talakai, who played for the junior Kiwis but has pledged his World Cup allegiances to Tonga, also produced three line breaks, two line-break assists, seven tackle breaks and three off-loads while carrying the ball 202 metres in 13 runs at left centre.

Shaun Johnson on road to recovery in 'the chamber' after Achilles tendon injury

The 30-year-old Cronulla playmaker snapped an Achilles tendon last September, prematurely ending a standout season which saw him lead the NRL for try assists.

Johnson and wife Kayla (nee Cullen) – a former Silver Ferns netballer – welcomed daughter Millah in August, not long before his injury.

Johnson has featured in a video on the Sharks' website detailing his rehabilitation workload while his Cronulla colleagues “get to run out on the field and pass a footy around’’.

Eels too good for Sharks

The Eels are level on points with the Melbourne Storm, just a point behind the table-topping Penrith Panthers, who the Warriors play this Friday.

The Titans earlier beat the North Queensland Cowboys 30-10 on the Gold Coast to now be the top ranked side in the state.

They're up to 13th, just ahead of the Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos.

 

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Tuilagi to sign for Sale Sharks

Dan Schofield reports that now-former Leicester Tigers centre is set to sign for the rest of the current season with the Sharks, after being officially released by the Tigers.

Tuilagi was one of five players stood down last week after failing to reach agreement with the club on their pay, of which all other contracted members of the squad for the period from July 1, 2020, agreed to due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kat-trick beats Dogs: Katoa flies in for three as Sharks win nail-biter

The flying 22-year-old scored the first hat-trick of his NRL career, producing a sensational diving finish for one try and displaying fantastic hands for another at Bankwest Stadium.

Canterbury threatened to pull off a comeback at the death after Christian Crichton scored an intercept try, but Cronulla scrambled desperately to secure their second win of 2020.

Sharks coach John Morris shook his head in disbelief at Katoa's brilliance post-match.

"He's just such a great kid, Sione. He's worked so hard on his game," Morris said.

Sharks claim first win of NRL season

The Sharks beat the North Queensland Cowboys 26-16 in Townsville on Saturday night.

But the result did not come without some worrying pre-match moments for the visitors, who scored five tries to three on their way to victory.

Six Sharks players, including Kiwis halfback Shaun Johnson, failed pre-game temperature checks, putting their participation in the game in doubt.

All six were eventually cleared to play after passing a subsequent second test.

Earlier on Saturday, Parramatta scored a controversial 19-16 win over Manly.

Rusty Highlanders go down to Sharks

The South African side scored five tries to the Highlanders two.

The hosts opened the scoring with a penalty in the sixth minute of the match when first five Mitchell Hunt kicked a penalty.

However, it was all one way traffic from there.

Flanker James Venter was the first try scorer in the match (31st minute) before Springboks winger Makazole Mapimpi scored two tries in the space of four minutes before the half was up.

By half-time the Sharks led 27-3.

Fifita and Prior should be right for Manly

The Sharks lost Fifita barely seven minutes into their Magic Round win over the Titans and Prior not long after.

But veteran skipper Paul Gallen lifted in the pair's absence along with big contributions from bench forwards Brayden Hamlin-Uele, Jack Williams and Jayson Bukuya to overturn an 18-10 halftime deficit to run home 26-18 winners over an ill-disciplined Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.

Sharks confident Johnson can provide bite

Johnson will play his first game for the Sharks against Newcastle on Friday night, after he was released by the Warriors in an ugly split at the end of last year.

His pick up couldn't have come at a better time for Cronulla, who lost their biggest attacking weapon in Holmes last November.

Holmes led the Sharks last season for tries, linebreaks, tackle busts and running metres, hitting his best just as Cronulla made a run to the preliminary final.

"I think what he brings to the side is a bit of X-factor which we lost with Val," Morris said of Johnson.

Sharks survive Penrith comeback

 

Down 18-0 after 30 minutes on Friday night, the Panthers mounted a memorable fightback but fell agonisingly short in front of 19,211 at Allianz Stadium.

A 75th-minute field goal to Sharks halfback Chad Townsend proved decisive as rival playmaker Nathan Cleary hooked his attempt to level the contest soon after.

The Sharks now meet arch-rivals Melbourne at AAMI Park next Friday night in what shapes as a mouth-watering preliminary final.