Cronulla have ended their Auckland Nines campaign on a high, with a young Sharks team putting on a second half blitz to down Canterbury 28-4.
The Sharks were already eliminated from the tournament going into their final pool match on Sunday morning after losses to the Gold Coast and Penrith on Saturday.
Cronulla trailed to an early Bulldogs try before Jesse Ramien scored twice to give the Sharks an 8-4 lead at half-time.
Highly-rated local junior Daniel Vasquez extended the advantage to 12-4 with a try from the first set of the second half before a Gerard Beale try on their next possession put Cronulla 16-4 in front.
Matt Prior barged over for a bonus-zone try before Will Kennedy took an intercept and raced 85 metres to score.
Sharks premiership-winning outside back Gerard Beale told Fox Sports he was pleased with how Cronulla bounced back after a disappointing first day at the tournament.
“Obviously coming into the [competition] we had high hopes. As you can see Nines footy is about holding the [ball] and [on Saturday] we weren’t able to do that. [It was good to] finish on a high note.
“[We are] a little bit sore but everyone has enjoyed it. Everyone around here has got a smile on their face that footy is back so I think that’s really taken the pain away.”