The wait is over.
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After 50 years of heartache, the Cronulla Sharks have finally won their first premiership, downing minor premiers Melbourne 14-12 on Sunday night.
The jokes, the taunting, the heartbreak. It can all end. The porch lights can be turned off.
There couldn’t have been many people left in the shire as a sea of black, white and blue – a crowd of 83,625 – took over ANZ Stadium to witness history.
An incredible defensive effort from Melbourne looked to have got them home, only for a late surge from Cronulla resulting in an Andrew Fifita try gave the Sharks an epic two-point victory.
It was a performance befitting this Cronulla side. Resilient, tough, aggresssive. Courageous.
It was the perfect first half from Cronulla, who went to the break leading 8-0 after dominating the Storm from the first whistle.
A bruising start saw Fifita penalised for a high tackle in the opening set of the game before the giant prop earned the Sharks a penalty in the third minute which gave Cronulla the field position to set up the first score.
Michael Ennis, playing his last game in the NRL, forced a repeat set with a grubber kick close to the line, with Marika Koroibete penalised for a high tackle on Chad Townsend, allowing James Maloney to give Cronulla a 2-0 lead with a penalty goal.
After 14 minutes Cronulla had their first try thanks to a brilliant piece of improvisation from Paul Gallen.
A Sharks scrum 10 metres out from Melbourne’s line allowed Gallen to bowl Townsend out of the way to receive the ball and dart out from the base of the scrum.
The Sharks captain then found Ben Barba with a pass back on the inside for the mercurial fullback to score, with Maloney’s conversion giving Cronulla an 8-0 advantage.
Cronulla continued to dominate field position and possession and could have extended their lead five minutes before the break when Sosaia Feki went close to scoring from a Maloney kick.
Suliasi Vunivalu just got to the ball ahead of Feki but knocked it into the Sharks winger to give Cronulla another repeat set.
Cronulla had another chance on the stroke of half-time when Blake Green dropped an Ennis grubber. A shove on Ennis after the Cronulla hooker patted Green on the back sparked a brief coming together. But Melbourne’s brilliant defence again repelled the Sharks and kept their lead to eight points at the break.
But as perfect as Cronulla were in the first half, it was Melbourne who were to be the next to score 10 minutes into the second.
New Zealand captain Jesse Bromwich barged over from close range after a pair of Storm penalties, with Cameron Smith’s conversion reducing the deficit to 8-6.
It was then that the tide began to turn against the Sharks, as they lost Feki to a knee injury and Matt Prior to a concussion test. Jayson Bukuya was then forced off after copping a bad head knock while attempting to tackle Storm back-rower Tohu Harris.
Cronulla rallied, with a Cheyse Blair knock on from a Maloney kick allowing Cronulla to start another set close to Melbourne’s line, with the Sharks building more pressure after earning yet a repeat set.
But some remarkable Storm defence close to their line kept Cronulla at bay and allowed them to take the lead for the first time with 15 minutes remaining as centre Will Chambers sliced through close to the line to give Melbourne a 12-8 lead.
But Cronulla were not done. A penalty for a Christian Welch high shot on Townsend gave the Sharks a set 10 metres from Melbourne’s line – and this time they made it count.
Fifita charged from close range and held off five Storm defenders to slam the ball down under the posts.
It was then Melbourne’s turn to chase the game, with Gerard Beale saving a certain Storm try when he got back just in time to knock a Cooper Cronk kick over the dead ball line.
The Storm’s final chance came with seconds to go. They hit Cronulla like a hurricane. But the Sharks’ defence held firm with a number of incredible, desperate tackles.
Cronulla saw off a miraculous last effort from Melbourne. And that was it. It was over.
The Cronulla Sharks were premiership winners.
Leader Scoreboard
Cronulla Sharks 14 (Ben Barba, Andrew Fifita tries. James Maloney three goals)
defeated
Melbourne Storm 12 (Jesse Bromwich, Will Chambers tries. Cameron Smith two goals)
at ANZ Stadium
Crowd: 83,625
Clive Churchill Medalist: Luke Lewis (Cronulla Sharks)
