'More fired up than usual': Ronaldo Mulitalo 'attacked' by rival in 'messy' triumph over the Storm at Shark Park
Nicho Hynes' losing streak against the Melbourne Storm has officially come to an end as Cronulla produced a gutsy win to spoil their rival's trip to Sydney.
The tension of the bitter rivalry between all on the field was brewing throughout the battle but finally reached its boiling point on the stroke of full time.
The Storm were trailing by five with one minute remaining in the match when Ryan Papenhuyzen lost the ball while making a break through the middle.
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The fullback looked to be attempting to offload the ball to supporting teammates when the error was made, with Ronaldo Mulitalo stood over Papenhuyzen to celebrate.
Mulitalo's act sparked a bit of push-and-shove which was quickly diffused by referee Adam Gee as the final siren sounded. However, a penalty was awarded to the Storm by Gee, who cited a high shot by Siosifa Talakai on Papenhuyzen.
"The fans are standing. They are on the edge of their seats," Mick Ennis said on Fox League.
Daniel Atkinson of the Sharks celebrates with team mates after scoring a try. Getty
The Storm collected their penalty on the 30m line as Cameron Munster put a bomb up in the air for a storming Grant Anderson and Xavier Coates to chase.
Both were unsuccessful in the airbourne contest against Mulitalo, who lost the ball as he hit the turf and was struck high by Papenhuyzen.
"This has gotten a little more fired up than usual. Ronaldo Mulitalo looks like he was attacked," commentator Dan Ginnane said on Fox League.
"He just launches in. We might not be done here," Ennis added.
Ryan Papenhuyzen hits Ronaldo Mulitalo high on the stroke of fulltime. Fox League
Another melee broke out in the in-goal as a replay of Papenhuyzen's shot was displayed on the big screens. The footage was enough to infuriate Mulitalo, who was held back from confronting the Storm fullback by teammates.
No penalty was given due to the game already being over, although Gee confirmed that Papenhuyzen would have been sent to the sin bin had the clock still been in play.
"A messy finish but an awesome night," Ginnane continued.
"This is going to be an iconic win for the Sharks. Listen to the crowd."
Sualauvi Faalogo of the Storm is tackled by Ronaldo Mulitalo of the Sharks. Getty
Earlier, Mulitalo landed a swinging arm on Sualauvi Faalogo in what marked the start of a fiery battle in front of a home crowd.
Faalogo stayed down on the turf for a short period as a melee spilled over the sidelines, prompting referee Adam Gee to issue an immediate warning to all on the pitch.
"He just launches in and collect Faalogo high. It was aggressive," Ennis said.
"(The contact) looked more extravagant (live) but (his arm) just slipped over the top. It's light contact."
The incident was not enough to slow a fiery Cronulla outfit from snatching the lead as Mulitalo powered down the sideline to level the scores at 6-all in the seventh minute.
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Injury blows to Jesse Ramien, who was poked in the eye, and a foot concern for Samuel Stonestreet were than dealt before the 25th minute.
But a try-scoring blitz followed soon after and ignited the Sharks with Addin Fonua-Blake, Daniel Atkinson and KL Iro charging over to put the team in front 24-12.
Braydon Trindall was not willing to risk losing the lead through a potential Storm resurgence in the final 40 as he nailed a field goal to extend Cronulla's lead to 25-12 into the half time break.
A second half hat-trick for Xavier Coates plus a try for Nick Meaney was not enough to put the Storm ahead as Sharks gun Daniel Atkinson powered over for a double.
