The Cronulla Sharks have put in a performance that can be described only as a thrashing with the Sharks taking a 40-6 victory over the Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval.
It only took seven minutes for the Sharks to start the scoring and it was a piece of brilliance or luck depending on the camp you're in when a kick over the top from Matt Moylan came off the post whether intended or not ended up with some good work from Nicho Hynes to score.
The Sharks continued their dominance when Royce Hunt was able to break away from some flimsy defence from the Sea Eagles to score next to the posts. Matt Moylan then had his turn to get out of a tackle and score although at first it was initially denied by Gerard Sutton but thankfully for the Sharks, the bunker needed very few looks to overturn the decision.
It was the Nicho Hynes show all night and that was on show again when towards half time, the Sharks took advantage of an overlap and a beautiful pass out to Matt Ikuvalu who scored in the corner. The conversion was missed in what was Hynes' only negative in the first half.
The second half wasn't the cleanest performance from the Sharks but they were never in doubt as they were able to extend their lead when Nicho Hynes scored his second of the night when the Sharks elected to go down the shortside and kept the ball alive for the long-haired star to score.
Momentum was still with the Sharks and Matt Ikuvalu set up the next try when he tapped back a Nicho Hynes kick and Briton Nikora picked it up and raced around to the posts to score. Hynes converted to extend the lead.
The next 15-minute period was an absolute mess but the Sharks were able to score when the Sea Eagles couldn't handle a Hynes bomb and Matt Ikuvalu was there to pounce on the loose ball.
Manly were saved from a donut score, when Daly Cherry-Evans took an intercept to score and convert his own try.
It'll be a long two weeks for the Manly Sea Eagles who look like they've shut down for 2022 with away games against Canberra and the Bulldogs in the next two weeks while for the Sharks they have an easier finish by standards against the Bulldogs at home and then a trip to Newcastle in the final round.