Sharks beat Rabbitohs 27-12 in dominant NRL win

Cronulla have put the NRL on notice with a dominant 27-12 victory over South Sydney at Shark Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Sharks burst out to a 20-0 halftime lead in a near-perfect opening stanza, headlined by brilliant play from Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall, who combined for tries, 40/20s, and one of the tries of the season – a 108-metre coast-to-coast stunner finished by Kayal Iro.

Trindall, who was arguably best on ground, added a try of his own and a late field goal to ice the result, while Hynes was the architect behind Cronulla’s early dominance as the $1.16 bookmaker favourites.

“We used the wind to our advantage … we need to fix that second half,” Trindall told ABC Sport post-match, noting their slight drop-off in intensity after the break.

Cronulla Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon praised his side’s execution and character.

“We worked on certain attributes we wanted to see in our footy and our character as a team, and I thought they showed that early,” Fitzgibbon said.

Injuries to Braden Hamlin-Uele (knee) and Siosifa Talakai (ankle) were the only concerns, with Jye Gray’s hip-drop style tackle on Talakai to be reviewed.

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Wayne Bennett’s Rabbitohs, who had opened the season with two gutsy wins, were brought back down to earth.

“We started badly … but to our credit, the guys kept hanging in there,” Bennett said, noting the team’s fight to win the second half.

Jamie Humphreys was moved to lock in the second half, where he crossed for a late consolation try alongside one from Jack Wighton, but Souths were never truly in the contest.

Cody Walker admitted, “They probably out-enthused us … their intent was a lot more evident in that first 10 minutes.”

South Sydney will now regroup ahead of a daunting clash with Penrith next week.

Currently the top NRL bookmakers have marked the Cronulla Sharks as a $9.50 chance of winning the 2025 NRL Premiership.

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