A burst of brilliance from Nicho Hynes late has helped the Sharks to a hard-fought 22-12 win over the Roosters at PointsBet Stadium on Friday night.
Fresh after signing a lifetime deal with the Sharks until the end of 2029, Hynes stepped up when it mattered to send Blayke Brailey over the line to break a 12-12 deadlock with 10 minutes remaining.
He then helped the Sharks gain further momentum for Braden Hamlin-Uele to bust up the middle before Brailey sent Briton Nikora over the line in the following play.
It was an important win for Hynes and the home side, who were coming off the bye and the shock loss to the Warriors in Round 5.
The match couldn't have ended any more poorly for the Roosters, who lost Brandon Smith and Victor Radley to the bin late for ill-discipline.
Cronulla took advantage of a 12-man Roosters outfit to take an 8-0 lead early when Nat Butcher was placed on report and sin-binned for an alleged hip-drop tackle on Sharks back-rower Briton Nikora.
A penalty goal put the Sharks up by two before Matt Moylan cut back on the inside of the play to cross next to the posts.
The Roosters though hit back while down a man in with Luke Keary sending Egan Butcher over on the left edge. They then took the lead through Brandon Smith when he burrowed his way to the line as momentum shifted in the first half.
Cronulla hit back to level the scores after half-time with Ronaldo Mulitalo finishing off a Nikora run across field that created some space for the Sharks winger to dive over in the corner.
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Story first published by: NRL.com