Matt Moylan was the star of the show as Cronulla extended their winning streak to six matches, thrashing the Knights 48-10 in Newcastle on Sunday.
The Sharks are now into the NRL’s top four and just two points behind competition leaders St George Illawarra and Penrith.
Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan was able to rest star prop Andrew Fifita after carrying a knee injury in recent weeks. The return of experienced back-rowers Wade Graham and Luke Lewis from injuries of their own softened the blow, with the Sharks arguably as close to full strength as they have been all season.
Cronulla took the lead inside three minutes. Young centre Jesse Ramien will be wearing the red and blue next season but hurt his future club with the opening try. A delightful Matt Moylan cut out pass saw Ramien power through Nathan Ross to score.
The Sharks were in again after 12 minutes. Chad Townsend put in an ordinary-looking kick only for the Knights to allow the ball to bounce 10 metres out from their own line.
The ball bounced at a right angle for Valentine Holmes to scoop it up and touch down out wide.
A Townsend penalty goal extended Cronulla’s lead to 10-0 before things got even tougher for the Knights when they lost star fullback Kalyn Ponga after a heavy Lewis tackle.
The young No.1 was hit hard after passing the ball and, despite taking part in the next set, was removed for a head injury assessment.
Things were beginning to look ominous for the Knights when Jayden Brailey crossed eight minutes before half-time after a sublime Matt Prior offload close to Newcastle’s line.
Townsend’s conversion had Cronulla 16-0 in front before the Knights hit back five minutes before the break. Lachlan Fitzgibbon isolated Townsend in the line and strolled through a poor tackle attempt to give Newcastle hope.
But there was time for the Sharks to reestablish their advantage before half-time. Ross was placed on report for an attempted trip and, from the ensuing penalty, a Cronulla shift to the left involving Moylan saw Josh Dugan crash over.
With the Sharks leading 22-6 the Knights needed to respond quickly in the second half but it was Cronulla who needed less than five minutes to extend their lead.
A slick backline move to the left saw Moylan run around Graham to put Edrick Lee in the corner.
Moylan was at it again less than five minutes later, this time dancing across field before accelerating and putting Lewis through a yawning gap to score under the posts.
Moylan was running riot and had his third try assist of the half and fifth of the match when he grubber kicked into the in-goal area for Holmes to score his second try of the afternoon.
He had a sixth try assist with 16 minutes remaining, a perfect cross field kick allowed Ramien to catch and touch down for his second try of the afternoon.
Holmes completed his hat-trick 10 minutes from full-time, tip-toeing down the touchline to dive over in the corner for his 12th try in seven games against Newcastle.
Sione Mata’utia touched down for a late consolation try for the Knights as Cronulla eased to their seventh in a row against Newcastle.
Leader Scoreboard
Cronulla Sharks 48 (Valentine Holmes three, Jesse Ramien two, Jayden Brailey, Josh Dugan, Edrick Lee, Luke Lewis tries. Chad Townsend six goals)
defeated
Newcastle Knights 10 (Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Sione Mata’utia tries. Ken Sio goal)
at Beanies for Brain Cancer Stadium, Newcastle
Crowd: 20,913
Leader man of the match: Matt Moylan (Sharks)
Sharks’ next three: Rabbitohs (away), Tigers (home), Broncos (home)
