THE Cronulla Sharks defeated the Gold Coast Titans 38-10 in front of a sell out crowd last Sunday at C.ex International Stadium.

The Titans started brightly with Brian Kelly scoring after three minutes and Jamal Fogarty converting but that was the catalyst to send the Sharks into a feeding frenzy scoring six consecutive tries with Shaun Johnson kicking seven from seven.

Sharks winger Ronaldo Muliato terrorised the Titans defence scoring two tries with his lightning pace and change in direction that left the Titans diving at shadows.

It was a memorable afternoon for Shaun Johnson who celebrated his 200th NRL match leading the Sharks onto the pitch with his daughter in his arms and finished top scorer with 14 individual points plus one assist.

The affable Johnson was cheered on by the home crowd following his visit to Orara High School on Friday afternoon with Sharks teammates Wade Johnson and Will Chambers.

Matt Moylan combined with Johnson in the halfback position with two try assists and racked up 156 run metres and the Moylan and Johnson partnership also combined effectively in defence thwarting runs from David Fifita to keep the explosive second rower off the scoresheet.

It was an impressive Sharks performance who left no space for Titans playmakers Jamal Fogarty and Tanah Boyd to exploit in an entertaining 38-10 victory which left the 7,362 spectators wanting more.

The buoyant crowd lapped up the whole experience which started with a Smoking Ceremony to commemorate the Indigenous round, cheerleaders, mascots, an under 15s representative match and a half time goal kicking competition.

The indigenous round held special significance for the players as David Fifita asked the News Of The Area “Can you take a picture of us brothers,” as the Sharks and Titans indigenous players stood proudly together to share the moment.

The Titans and Sharks were generous with their time after the match giving autographs and selfies to the enthusiastic crowd who returned their appreciation by lining up for NRL merchandise after the match.

Sharks coach Josh Hannay was full of praise for his players in the post match press conference and when the News Of The Area asked for his opinion on the venue his first words were top notch.

“Top notch, the hospitality has been incredible, the playing surface is fantastic and it was great to play in front of a full stadium, it’s taken a lot of collaboration and thanks to the Council for helping to make it happen, they’ve been great to work with, I would like to come back again,” said Hannay.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook echoed Hannay’s sentiment but said there was one big problem with the venue.

“The facilities are excellent, we love coming to Coffs Harbour, there’s just one problem, we keep losing here, we need some wins here, the playing surface and venue is excellent,” said Holbrook.

This is the first competitive NRL fixture in Coffs Harbour and judging from the sell out crowd and the feedback from supporters, players and organisers, we will be seeing more.

 

By David WIGLEY