Michael Ennis said it was one of the best performances he has seen by a front-rower.
For Shane Flanagan it was a man of the match effort.
He has been one of Cronulla’s unsung heroes this season but on Saturday night Matt Prior finally got the kind of recognition he deserves after turning in a herculean effort to help get Cronulla over the line against Canberra.
The Sharks went into the game with their forward pack decimated by injury. No Gallen, no Tagataese, no Paulo. Then, after six minutes they lost Wade Graham to concussion.
Prior played 73 minutes of an exhausting semi-final at prop. He ran for 233 metres. He made 36 tackles. And he scored the try that completely swung the momentum of the game. He called it his best performance.
“It was a massive game for me. With Gal out I had to step up. All of us did. I felt like a bit of responsibility was on myself and the rest of the forwards and I just had to try and lead the way,” Prior said.
"I hope it’s another one I can back up. I feel like I’m looking forward to the next few weeks and the challenge of it all and I’m excited about it all.
With the Sharks trailing 12-0, they had no right to be in the game. They looked gone. And the Raiders looked like they would begin to blow them away on the back of a parochial home crowd.
Then Prior steamrolled Jack Wighton for his try just before half-time. It changed the game.
“I got to the fullback and thought I’d be able to step him [but] I got to him and froze. I didn’t know what to do,” he said.
“I got lucky and bumped him off and got it down.”
Ennis described the performance as ‘unbelievable’.
“He plays in a side that has a lot of good forwards with great reputations. A lot of his stuff goes unnoticed [but] he’s been outstanding for us all year,” Ennis said.
“Tonight his contribution, to be able to change the momentum of the game after playing 38 minutes straight, it’s as good as I’ve seen from a front-rower tonight.”
