Cronulla Sharks

With Nicho Hynes and Will Kennedy in slashing form the Sharks racked up a seventh win of the season to join the Panthers, Rabbitohs and Broncos on 16 competition points.

The Sharks struck first in the seventh minute when Kennedy sliced through the Knights' left side defence to grab his 11th try of the season.

Five minutes later the Sharks looked to have a second when Hynes finished off brilliant lead-up work by Connor Tracey but the try was ruled out for obstruction by Dale Finucane in the lead-up.

Bennett has waited 18 months to unleash Kiwi wrecking ball Valynce Te Whare and the 183rd player to be given his debut by the super coach made an immediate impression.

Te Whare - a raw but powerful rugby union convert, who has been biding his time with the Dolphins feeder team in the Queensland Cup - scored a try in each half as the new franchise produced a typical Bennett effort.

The Sharks are 5-3 for the season and sitting a comfortable second on the ladder but face no easy task against a Dolphins side who will be doing everything in their power to hand coach Wayne Bennett a night to remember on his 900th match as a first-grade rugby league coach.

Attack has been a strength for the Sharks from the get-go this season, leading the competition in points scored, linebreaks and try assists, but it was their improvement in defence which impress coach Craig Fitzgibbon most with in his side's 44-6 victory last Thursday.

Kennedy did the damage with 16 minutes of magic in the first half and the Sharks did enough from there to make it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023.

After the Bulldogs opened the scoring with an early penalty goal to Matt Burton the Sharks struck twice in the space of three minutes to blow the game open.

Both the tries came courtesy of Kennedy who backed up a Briton Nikora break to score in the seventh minute and then flew high to pull down a Matt Moylan bomb for his second. Nicho Hynes converted both tries for a 12-2 lead.

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.

Both sides scored five tries but in the end it was the goalkicking of Braydon Trindall that proved the difference as the Sharks opened their account for 2023 and retained the Johnny Mannah Cup.

An early offside penalty against the Sharks invited Parramatta into the red zone and J'maine Hopgood delivered a perfect flick pass for Reagan Campbell-Gillard to cross for the opening try.

Both sides will have taken plenty of positives out of their first-up efforts despite having nothing to show in the 'win' column - the Eels going to golden point against Melbourne, and the Sharks matching motors with Souths for much of the night despite going in without Nicho Hynes and losing Wade Graham to the bin.

Hynes is a chance to return from a calf injury but Graham faces three weeks on the sideline after he was charged with Dangerous Contact for a high shot on Rabbitoh Davvy Moale.

The victory will be especially pleasing for the Rabbitohs who had to overcome a heavy injury toll early in the game, with both Tavita Tatola and Jai Arrow unable to finish the match.

Arrow was reported in the broadcast to have suffered a hamstring injury, while Tatola failed his HIA after a head clash in the opening minute of the game while taking a hit up ended his night.

Cronulla forward Jack Williams also had his night ended early after also failing a HIA in the second half. 

After finishing the regular season in second place the Sharks went out in straight sets to the Cowboys and Rabbitohs last September but the positives far outweighed the negatives in Craig Fitzgibbon's first year at the helm.

From Nicho Hynes' dazzling Dally M deeds at halfback to the tryscoring deeds of Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Mulitalo to Matt Moylan's resurgence in the No.6, the Sharks were a force all season and there's every reason to think they can be again.

Graham's poise was crucial during a tight first half as the Sharks gradually took control while former Panther Puru had plenty of nice touches in the 12-point victory.

The Sharks opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Thomas Rodwell finished off some slick ball movement to score in the left hand corner. Niwhai Puru's conversion made it 6-0.

Former Bronco Tyson Gamble hit back for the Knights four minutes later courtesy of a nice offload from back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon.