‘As good as any’: Sharks pair shedding unwanted reputation
After several misfiring finals campaigns, are Cronulla’s maligned halves pairing finally putting together the kind of performances that can take the Sharks to the promised land? Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall are two standout named in The Mole’s Team of the Week for round 18.
1. Isaiah Iongi (Eels): Scored a try, saved a couple and made a line break and over 230 run metres - fast becoming one of the NRL’s elite fullbacks and could become a marquee man for the Eels in years to come.
Attribution: Getty Images
2. Tom Jenkins (Panthers): Continues to score tries for fun in his remarkable season, bagging three in the win over Souths - all with a high degree of difficulty - to equal Rhys Wesser’s club record of 25.
Attribution: Getty Images
3. Val Holmes (Dragons): Scored 16 of his team’s 24 points in the upset win over the Tigers, including the two late tries that turned the game at Kogarah on Saturday night.
Attribution: Getty Images
4. Fletcher Hunt (Knights): A constant danger to the Dolphins defence, scoring a try and narrowly missing a couple of others.
Attribution: Getty Images
5. Sione Katoa (Sharks): Bagged a hat trick against the strong Broncos backline on Saturday night and ran his team out of trouble plenty of times as well.
Attribution: Getty Images
6. Braydon Trindall (Sharks): The most dangerous player on the field at Suncorp, scoring a try and setting up a couple more as the Sharks put the final nail in the Broncos’ finals coffin on Saturday night.
Attribution: Getty Images
7. Nicho Hynes (Sharks): Proved the perfect foil for Trindall, also setting up two tries. Could these two lead the Sharks to the promised land? As good as any playmaking combo in the NRL on their day.
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8. Liam Henry (Panthers): Growing in stature every week in the Penrith side, leading the way up front, topping the tackle count and bending back the Souths line with some bruising runs through the middle.
Attribution: Getty Images
9. Phoenix Crossland (Knights): Topped his team’s tackle count and controlled play well from dummy half in Sunday’s thrilling win over the Dolphins.
Attribution: Michael Gorton (NRL Images)
10. Toby Couchman (Dragons): Topped the tackle count with 53 and ran for 130 metres - a mighty all-round effort that inspired the Dragons to their second win of the year over a poor Tigers side.
Attribution: Getty Images
