Cronulla will face Melbourne for a spot in the NRL grand final after producing a 32-12 stunner in the nation’s capital to knock minor premiers Canberra out in straight sets on Saturday night.
The Raiders are the first minor premiers to be knocked out in straight sets since the Dragons in 2009, with the previous instance coming back in 1993.
The Sharks stood up in defence over the first half hour and turned the tide when they scored their first two tries in the space of three minutes just before half-time.
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Canberra levelled things up soon after the break but Cronulla were unmoved, hitting the front 10 minutes later and simply flattening the home side right through to full-time.
The Sharks now face the daunting prospect of battling the Storm at home for a spot in the grand final — but Craig Fitzgibbon’s charges have already proved anything is possible.
The only sore spot was Tom Hazelton’s concussion suffered soon after he entered the game off the bench while fellow forward Toby Rudolf could face sanction for two first-half high shots.
Led by halfback Nicho Hynes, the Sharks ruthlessly poked at the Raiders’ sore points which were exposed in last week’s 94th minute qualifying final loss to Brisbane.
Canberra’s flimsy right edge defence comprising halfback Jamal Fogarty, second-rower Zac Hosking and centre Matt Timoko missed 12 tackles combined as Hynes and halves partner Braydon Trindall ran riot.
Their chemistry helped move the Sharks to within one game of a grand final while Canberra will be left wondering what might have been after a season that promised so much.
Livewire five-eighth Ethan Strange was ruled out on gameday and with Simi Sasagi deputising as a No.6, the Raiders lacked their usual spark.
Strange’s condition had worsened overnight to the point that he was coughing up blood and vomiting all night, according to sister and Roosters NRLW star Jasmin.
The home side struggled for fluency in attack and they only got on the board when Corey Horsburgh burst through a drained Sharks defence to touch down in the 22nd minute.
Horsburgh’s try gave the Sharks a chance to regroup and even accounting for Hazleton going off, Craig Fitzgibbon’s men began showing up the Raiders’ shortcomings.
Halfback Fogarty came up too eagerly in defence and Hynes helped send Mulitalo over on the left wing with a 34th minute try.
Cronulla smelt blood and added a second when centre KL Iro ran through some meek Timoko defence just before halftime.
Iro was felled close to the Raiders tryline but on the next tackle Hynes waltzed through a disorganised defence to put his side 12-6 up at the break.
Fogarty made amends for his early misread straight after halftime, sending a cutout pass to Seb Kris, who tipped on for Savelio Tamale to finish in the left corner.
But that was about as good as it got for the home side as Billy Burns swatted through a feeble Fogarty tackle to move the Sharks back in front.
Hynes, who finished the night with six goals from six attempts, kicked the conversion and then added a 25m penalty to open up an eight-point buffer on the hour mark.
Canberra have made a habit of miracle comebacks but on Saturday their luck ran out.
Iro scooped up a loose ball after a blunder from Jed Stuart to go over before a try to Teig Wilton put the finishing touches on an impressive Sharks win.
Cronulla fans then broke into spontaneous renditions of Canberrra’s signature Viking clap as the clock ticked down to full-time.
The Bulldogs and Panthers will battle on Sunday for the right to face the Broncos in the other preliminary final.
- with AAP
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