A Chad Townsend field goal with two minutes remaining saw Cronulla score a nail-biting 9-8 win over Canterbury on Saturday night.
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Cronulla’s home sickness looked like it would continue against a committed and brave Canterbury as the Bulldogs repelled wave after wave of Sharks’ attacks.
It was a high quality game in front of 20,497 fans – a sell out at Southern Cross Group Stadium and the sixth-largest crowd in the venue’s history – despite the absence of six stars to State of Origin duty.
Cronulla trailed 6-2 at half-time and 8-2 midway through the second half before Gerard Beale dragged them level with a 50 metre effort with 13 minutes remaining.
Townsend sealed the win in the dying stages to keep the Sharks circling near the top of the table.
Cronulla have struggled at Shark Park so far this season. Tight losses against Brisbane, St George Illawarra and the Gold Coast were offset by get-out-of-jail victories against Newcastle and North Queensland.
But this performance suggested they are back somewhere near their best as they controlled most of the game despite leaving it late to secure the two points.
The Sharks, without their NSW quartet of James Maloney, Wade Graham, Andrew Fifita and Jack Bird, lacked fluency in attack. Their only first half points coming through an early Valentine Holmes penalty goal.
Despite Cronulla completing 19 of 22 – of 86 per cent – of their sets in the first half, it was Canterbury who scored the only try before the break.
The Bulldogs, without three of their own Origin stars in Josh Jackson, David Klemmer and Brett Morris, took the lead against the run of play midway through the first half when Brenko Lee made the most of a Ricky Leutele slip to stroll over.
The seven minutes before half-time looked to have summed up Cronulla’s night. Five sets in a row they camped on Canterbury’s line and five times the Bulldogs turned them away. The closest they went was Luke Lewis knocking the ball on over the line from a Jayden Brailey grubber.
Brailey went close himself 10 minutes after half-time. Sosaia Feki went even closer, with a desperate try-saving tackle from Lee forcing his leg onto the touchline.
But it was two big plays from two special players that turned the game. Firstly, their inspirational captain Paul Gallen got back to defuse a grubber and somehow got back into the field of play. From the next play, Valentine Holmes bounded out of dummy-half, beating defender after defender to reach the 30 metre line.
That run laid the platform for Townsend to dance right and find Beale, with the centre slicing through the Canterbury line to run 50m and level the scores with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Townsend missed with his first attempt at field goal with six minutes left. He wouldn’t miss with his second.
With two minutes on the clock Cronulla powered downfield. It was left to a 30m charge from Gallen, who carried defenders with him, to put them in perfect position 10m out with the defensive line back pedaling. Townsend couldn’t miss.
Canterbury’s search for a win in the shire goes on. It was their first game at Shark Park since 2011. They are without a win here since 2005.
Yet again, as they have for most of this season and last, Cronulla simply found a way.
Leader Scoreboard
Cronulla Sharks 9 (Gerard Beale try. Valentine Holmes two goals. Chad Townsend field goal)
defeated
Canterbury Bulldogs 8 (Brenko Lee try. Kerrod Holland two goals)
at Southern Cross Group Stadium
Crowd: 20,497
Leader man of the match: Paul Gallen (Sharks)
Sharks’ next three: BYE, Storm (home), Tigers (home)