NRL live: Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans, Manly Sea Eagles vs Canberra Raiders
NRL Saturday live scores
HALF-TIME: Sharks hammering the Titans 34-0
What can you say? Diabolically bad from the Titans and really pretty good from Cronulla, but there’s room for improvement.
According to NRL.com, the Titans have had 51 per cent of possession.
The Sharks have invited the Titans into the game on a number of occasions but their strong defence has repelled everything the Coasters have thrown at them, which, in fairness, isn’t much.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but the Sharks have scored an easy try
Play-the-ball just in front of the posts, spin it left, Braydon Trindall fakes a pass to Billy Burns and plays out the back to Nicho Hynes, who waltzes over for the Sharks’ sixth try today.
37′ Aaaaaaaand a dropped ball
Another penalty puts the Titans on the attack from 25 metres out and, before long, a dummy-half pass goes to ground and Kurtis Morrin can’t pick it up.
This is one of the worst performances I can remember from an NRL team. And I watched the Broncos last night.
34′ Schoolboy errors from the Titans
The Titans get ANOTHER full set in Cronulla’s 10m zone after an escort penalty.
They go right and Arama Hau plays the ball … to NO-ONE.
Absolutely unbelievably awful play by the Titans.
“It’s laughable. I can’t believe what we’re watching,” Luke Lewis says on ABC Sport.
It’s try number five for Cronulla
Braydon Trindall bombs, Keano Kini loses the aerial contest with Briton Nikora, the ball bounces to Jesse Ramien, he pops a ball to trailing Trindall, and it’s another four-pointer for the home team.
Running riot in Cronulla.
26′ ANOTHER shot wasted for the Titans
KL Iro forces a turnover with a massive hit on Keano Kini, but as they streak upfield play is whistled back and Briton Nikora is put on report for a late shot.
So the Titans reload.
And, after another uninspiring set, AJ Brimson launches another one out on the full.
This is pathetic from the Titans so far.
24′ The Sharks knock it on
Addin Fonua-Blake fumbles in the first charge off the kick-off, so the Titans get another golden opportunity.
They spin it left and Beau Fermor drops it as he forces an offload. But it’s another life for the Titans as the referee was signalling six more as Fermor dropped it.
So it’s a penalty and a fresh set inside the 10m zone for the Titans.
And another one for the Sharks
Straight off the midfield penalty, the Sharks go left and Braydon Trindall completely bamboozles Arama Hau with a dummy, Sam Verrills fails to close the gap and the Cronulla pivot is over for the Sharks’ fourth of the afternoon.
21′ And now the kick-off is out on the full
Not just out, but 3 metres wide of the touch in-goal line from Lachy Ilias.
Woeful
It’s a third for the Sharks after 20 minutes!
Cronulla gets through a seven-tackle set and at the end just put it through the hands out to the right and strip the Titans’ for numbers far too easily, allowing Jesse Ramien to go over untouched.
“The Gold Coast Titans have definitely not turned up to play,” Luke Lewis says on ABC Sport.
19′ The Sharks will not bend
Another dropout forced by the Titans earns them a fresh set on the line, but it ends with a grubber trickling dead.
“I felt like the Gold Coast could’ve sat there for four hours and they wouldn’t have penetrated the Sharks’ line,” Luke Lewis say on ABC Sport.
15′ Will Kennedy saved by a Titans air-swing
The Titans get into proper field position and Lachlan Ilias rolls in a grubber.
Sharks fullback Will Kennedy takes a wrong turn and Aram Hau sneaks up on the inside track.
Lucky for Kennedy, Hau has an air-swing. Then Kennedy misses an attempt to knock it dead, and Sam Stonestreet finally cleans up.
ABC Sport galore
Arvo Jon. Juggling numerous sports blogs mate courtesy of my abc. Go the Sharks and no injuries please.
– KB
That’s right KB.
Today we’re blogging NRL, AFL, Test cricket and F1.
And tomorrow we’ll be doing the same, plus the Matildas vs South Korea in the Asian Cup.
Thankfully the Aussie men were knocked out of the T20 World Cup, otherwise we would’ve had six blogs rocking. There aren’t that many of us.
Another try for the Sharks
On the back of a first-tackle penalty and Blayke Brailey’s dummy-half scoot, Braydon Trindall dabs a grubber in behind and it sits up perfectly for Briton Nikora.
The Sharks go in again and Nicho Hynes converts for a 12-0 lead.
As good as the Sharks look, Luke Lewis is not impressed by the Coasters.
“There’s no energy from them at all, they look tired already and it’s only 10 minutes in,” he says on ABC Sport.
5′ Are they in again?
Referee says no.
Billy Burns crashes through Keano Kini and Beau Fermor and over next to the posts, but it looks like he’s been held up.
Burns tried to pull the wool over our eyes with a celebration, but Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski rightly says no try, and the bunker confirms.
First set, first points for Cronulla
Braydon Trindall ends the Sharks’ first set with a high kick out to the left and Sam Stonestreet leaps above the Titans, batting it down straight to Will Kennedy to dive over.
How easy was that?
Not even two minutes in and the Sharks open the try-scoring.
Nicho Hynes converts and they lead 6-0 in a flash.
1′ We’re off and running in Cronulla
The Sharks kick off and Moeaki Fotuaika takes the first charge for the Titans.
Here come the teams
The Titans first, and then the Sharks, led by Blayke Brailey in Cameron McInnes’s absence.
Season number 20 for the Titans
The Titans are repping ’07 on their warm-up kits because they came into the league in 2007.
It brings to mind the eternal question for teams: When do you celebrate your 20th anniversary?
Is it the team’s 20th season or after 20 years in the league (i.e. the start of the 2027 season)?
Or, just do what others have done and have two bites of the apple in successive years?
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