Cronulla Sharks have piled on the points in their 44-6 win over North Queensland Cowboys in front of 8,148 fans at Shark Park.
The Sharks won three games in a row for the first time in 2023 after they embarrassed the Cowboys in a performance which saw the left side of the hosts feast led by the current Dally M medalist Nicho Hynes.
From the opening minute, it looked a mismatch. Cowboys dropped the ball from their first touch and the Sharks took advantage right away with Sifa Talakai strolling over from a Hynes pass to make it 6-0.
Hynes had his hands all over this performance tonight. He kicked nine goals and was instrumental in a majority of their tries which saw them move up to second spot on the NRL premiership ladder.
The Sharks showed all the skills. Briton Nikora stabbed through a kick which saw Jesse Ramien score then Hynes floated a pass to Sione Katoa who pushed off some feeble defense to get the hosts third and make it 20-0.
Cowboys did get some life late in the half. Tom Dearden sliced through then the follow up pass goes to Kyle Feldt who gave Ronaldo Mulitalo a wicked fend to get the visitors on the scoreboard.
Sharks came out of the break and felt just fine. Mulitalo got in on the action with a pair of four pointers before the hour mark which came from Talakai passes as the score line started to blow out.
They added two more tries to make it 44-6. Hynes had the simpliest job when the Cowboys spilled a bomb right into his path then Jack Williams steamed onto a Matt Moylan pass for the final score.
Cowboys will want to forget this night quickly. They had Scott Drinkwater and Jeremiah Nanai binned in the contest while they lost Chad Townsend, Tom Chester and Kyle Feldt to injury during the game.
For his magnificent performance, Hynes was awarded the Paul Green medal which honoured the late footballer who was involved with both clubs. Sharks have a battle of the aquatic animals next week against the Dolphins.