The Cronulla Sharks have not only been victorious over the Raiders at Toyota Park, the sometimes maligned Sharks have managed to turn on the points again and flex their improving attack muscles.
Ricky Stuart’s Sharks will now be hoping for the Warriors to upset the Storm, so the Shire boys will get a rest next week and a guaranteed passage through next weeks sudden death round.
But Cronulla’s celebrations will no doubt be tempered by the spectre of a likely sudden death appointment with the Sydney Roosters next week, possibly at the Roosters’ home ground the Sydney Football Stadium.
The NRL will determine whether the SFS or ANZ Stadium will be used next weekend with week one winners Cronulla supposed to receive a home city advantage over losers the Roosters under the controversial McIntyre final eight system.
Canberra will be eliminated from the finals if St George Illawarra beat Manly later tonight or the New Zealand Warriors upset Melbourne tomorrow.
Failing that, the disappointing Raiders will need to travel to Brisbane next weekend.
As well as Taulapapa’s hat-trick, Cronulla’s points came from tries to Brett Seymour, Luke Covell, Ben Pomeroy and Brett Kearney while Covell booted three from six and Brett Kimmorley the final conversion in his last home game at Shark Park.
For Canberra, Marshall Chalk and Colin Best scored tries with Terry Campese kicking one goal.
But it was the Cronulla right winger who had given the Sharks their 14-0 halftime lead with three well taken four-pointers.
Taulapapa picked up the scraps of a Brett Kimmorley cross-field chip which was spilt by Canberra centre Best in just the third minute and the Sharks led 6-0.
Taulapapa got his second in the 12th minute when he completed a backline move involving Kimmorley and Kearney, narrowly staying inside the corner post for the Sharks to lead 10-0.
Taulapapa’s third came when lock Paul Gallen offloaded a miracle ball with tacklers all over him five minutes before the break.
The Raiders hit back quickly after halftime, playing some hot-potato football and scoring through Chalk in the 41st minute.
But their gain was cancelled out just three minutes later when an error led to Seymour’s four-pointer and it was 18-4.
It was 24-4 eight minutes later when Covell contested a cross-field kick with Joel Monaghan and came up with the scraps when the Raiders centre fumbled in goal.
Covell bombed a certain try in the 54th minute and the Raiders rallied briefly when Best crossed in the 68th, but late tries to Pomeroy and Kearney iced the cake for the Sharks.
CRONULLA 36 (M Taulapapa 3 L Covell B Kearney B Pomeroy B Seymour tries L Covell 3 B Kimmorley goals)
bt CANBERRA 10 (C Best M Chalk tries T Campese goal) at Toyota Stadium. Referee: J Maxwell. Crowd: 18,252
To anyone who will listen
I’m a women and love NRL but if Greg Bird gets to play for the Sharks in finals that will be the end of NRL for me.
The boss’s of league are “hypocrites” and should hang their head in shame. This is the centenary year of league and what a mess they have made of it, all year the so called men of league have stuffed up one week after the next not on the paddock but in their
off field antics,but the sad thing is NRL still don’t get on top the ugly side of the boys (not men)in the league. Look at how they handled the Bulldogs in Coffs, what a fiasco that was and now they compound one mistake after another.
Andrew Johns this was the biggest joke of all admitted drug addict and not just occassionaly, but for years. We forgive you Johnny says the NRL all is forgiven, But then we are all told now that wait for it,Wow! he is voted into the Centenary Legends. Great roll model he turned out to be.
Todd Carney was crucified by the media for urinating on someone, but Canberra at least showed they had a set by ousting him.
Greg Bird this is a joke he scars a women for life by glassing her in the face, break her eye socket and we are now all supposed to feel sorry for him and let him play in the finals (NOT LIKELY)
Then there’s the Broncos, what a beat up that has been this week by the media plus the NRL. “Was it a set-up?” to try and distract us from the news that that spineless little weasel Greg Bird wants to get back in to play in the finals.
and by the way I’m a Raiders supporter and have been since their beginning and this the first time I have ever been so unhappy with the NRL that I had to have be angry enough to put pen to paper. Union is looking better every day.
Cheers Kay