The Cronulla Sharks spent almost an hour playing with 12 men - and a further 10 minutes when down to 11 men later - due to Will Kennedy getting sent off and Jesse Ramien sin binned, yet they not only held on, but increased their lead while defending heroically to belt the Warriors 29-10 at Pointsbet Stadium.
The Sharks opened the scoring in the 7th minute when Jesse Ramien made a break down the right side, before getting a good ball inside to Will Kennedy who then drew the defender before linking with Nicho Hynes who raced 30 metres to score. Hynes converted his try.
In the 17th minute Reece Walsh stepped Kennedy, who then flung out his arm and collected Walsh with a sloppy coat hanger. Walsh was unaffected and got straight to his feet, but the referee did not hesitate in sending off Kennedy.
In the set following Kennedy's dismissal, the Warriors swung the ball right, taking advantage of the extra man advantage they had, leading to a try to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak in the corner. Walsh failed to convert from out wide.
Four minutes later the Warriors took the lead when Walsh received an offload, ran around to the left and through a gap, before he was ankle-tapped by Sione Katoa. As Walsh fell forward he got a good offload away to Daejarn Asi, who grubbered to the left side where Viliami Vailea got a good bounce and scored out wide. Walsh converted from out wide to give the Warriors a 10-6 lead.
The Sharks hit back 9 minutes before halftime when Tieg Wilton received a lovely flat ball in the line, he hit the line and spun before crashing over for a good try. Hynes converted to give the Sharks a 2 point lead.
Six minutes after play resumed from the halftime break, Hynes skipped clear of a tackle, passed to Siosifa Talakai, who drew the cover defender before getting a lovely ball to Connor Tracey who scored untouched in the corner. Hynes failed to convert from out wide.
In the 55th minute Jesse Ramien was sent to the sin bin after he hit Euan Aitken with a shoulder charge to the head, which resulted in Aitken leaving the field for an HIA which he ultimately failed.
The Sharks dominated possession and field position for the following ten minutes, denying the Warriors a chance to get back into the game despite having 2 extra men on the field.
Shortly after Ramien returned to the field, the Sharks crossed again when Hynes threw a long, looping ball over the top to Tracey, who ran in and around to score nearer to the posts. Hynes converted.
In the 74th minute Hynes calmly potted a field goal to give the Sharks a 13 point lead.
But the misery didn't end there for the Warriors as Hynes sent Ramien in for a try, which he converted to give the Sharks an impressive and dominant 19 point victory.