The Cronulla Sharks have bounced back from their poor performance last week to absolutely trounce the poor old Bulldogs, winning 48-10 in a display of men against boys at Pointsbet Stadium.
It was somewhat of an arm wrestle early, with the Sharks slight upper hand being evened by two poor Nicho Hynes errors. He was quick to steady the ship though, picking up a Flanagan grubber and running 90 metres before getting tackled to get the ball rolling for Cronulla's first, scored by Teig Wilton after a shift to the left.
The Sharks would go further ahead with a penalty goal before Braden Hamlin-Uele crashed over for a soft try, the first of many bargeovers scored by big men in an indication that the Bulldogs middle defence isn't up to standard.
When the Bulldogs were on the attack, they shot themselves in the foot with basic errors, Karl Oloapu putting it down and allowing Mulitalo to get the Sharks going. That man would score about a minute later as Will Kennedy beat two defenders and threw a lovely pass.
The Dogs would get one back courtesy of a Kyle Flanagan shortside scoot from dummy-half, the former Shark doing a "this is my house" celebration that didn't quite fit in the context of the game with his side down by 14.
Before the break, Cronulla would add two more tries that were almost identical, with Cam McInnes crashing over before Jack Williams did the same a few minutes later. At half time, it was 30 to 4 in favour of the Sharks, who didn't look like letting up.
The desperation of Canterbury was showing, with Braidon Burns trying to force a miracle offload while coming out of his own end that was dived on by Ramien, allowing the Sharks an opportunity to post first points of the half. They did just that, as big Tom Hazleton used Reed Mahoney as a glorified speed bump on his way to the first try of his career.
The Sharks would bring up 40 about five minutes later when they took advantage of another attacking opportunity, Nicho Hynes putting the milestone man Briton Nikora over for a try in his 100th game.
It was a horror day for the Bulldogs, and it looked as though the scoreline could be anything when Jesse Ramien intercepted Kyle Flanagan's pass in the 60th minute to make it a 48-4 ball game, but to their credit they were a lot stronger for the final quarter of the match and even scored the last try when Reed Mahoney found a rampaging Kurtis Morrin in the 72nd minute, giving the final score of 48-10 in favour of the home team.
Both sides will freshen up with a bye next week.