{"id":825191,"date":"2026-07-26T15:56:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T15:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/825191\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T15:56:56","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T15:56:56","slug":"sharks-savaging-leaves-sea-eagles-finals-hopes-in-free-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/825191\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharks savaging leaves Sea Eagles\u2019 finals hopes in free fall"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If we are being fair dinkum, when do we start talking about Craig Fitzgibbon winning coach of the year?<\/p>\n

Cronulla were a true joy to watch on a sunny Sunday afternoon as they triumphed 48-12 against Manly at 4 Pines Park.<\/p>\n

The last half-hour felt like it dragged on forever. It was Cronulla\u2019s fifth straight win on the northern beaches.<\/p>\n

And it was extra special considering the Sea Eagles had everything to play for.<\/p>\n

Manly are now four points adrift of the top eight, and the difference between them and genuine top-four contenders the Sharks is huge.<\/p>\n

Which is why Fitzgibbon needs to take a bow. Fitzgibbon has now overseen the club for six seasons, and there is every chance his side will notch a top-four finish for a fourth time. He\u2019s made the finals the other two seasons.<\/p>\n

\"RonaldoRonaldo Mulitalo scores for the Sharks on Monday.NRL Photos<\/p>\n

If Fitzgibbon does not win the top gong, then who? Penrith\u2019s Ivan Cleary? New Zealand Warriors boss Andrew Webster or Kristian Woolf at the Dolphins?<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbon\u2019s side is the real deal with the perfect amount of speed and flair and mongrel.<\/p>\n

Not for a second is Fitzgibbon getting carried away, though. \u201cIf you think you\u2019re somewhere, that\u2019s when someone puts one on your chin,\u201d he said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Nicho Hynes has now kicked 26 successive goals and playing is with the kind of confidence that made the Sharks recruit him from Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Will Kennedy\u2019s ability to stay alive on the play and keep running and moving before popping up to score a try in the 16th minute was inspiring.<\/p>\n

\"CronullaCronulla players celebrate after Siosifa Talakai\u2019s try.Getty Images<\/p>\n

And what about the courage and class from Braydon Trindall to throw a wobbly cut-out pass for Ronaldo Mulitalo to score in the left corner.<\/p>\n

Nine commentator Andrew Johns rightfully pointed out the desperation was there right until the end when Hynes threw a wild pass, only for Siona Katoa to put his body on the line and beat Joey Walsh to the loose ball.<\/p>\n

Fitzgibbon is never one to praise individuals, but was happy to rap unsung hero Teig Wilton, especially his work off the ball.<\/p>\n

Cronulla have now won four games since the bye round, and with matches against South Sydney, St George Illawarra, Canberra, Gold Coast, Parramatta and struggling Melbourne to finish the regular season, the Shire club may not lose again before the finals.<\/p>\n

Manly have now dropped four straight games and will need to do some soul-searching during the bye before flying to Perth to take on Melbourne.<\/p>\n

There is a good chance they will welcome the return of Tom Trbojevic (hamstring), while the longer turnaround will give his younger brother Ben every chance to overcome a concussion. Ben reeled out of a tackle on Sifa Talakai and his afternoon ended before half-time.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"It<\/a><\/p>\n

The club\u2019s Golden Eagles, ranging from club legends such as 96-year-old Ken Arthurson and one-gamers such as James Segeyaro, were meant to inspire the current group before kick-off.<\/p>\n

But they struggled for good field position and came up with a few poor options at the end of sets. Two of Jamal Fogarty\u2019s kicks went too deep in the first half and gifted Cronulla seven-tackle sets.<\/p>\n

The first of the fans started to exit with just half an hour remaining after Hynes sliced through the defence and rifled a pass back infield for Talakai to score to make it 42-6. The rest followed with about 15 minutes remaining when Trindall\u2019s kick was pounced on by KL Iro.<\/p>\n

Coach Kieran Foran knows his team can close the gap on the premiership heavyweights such as Cronulla, but said it depended on how badly the players wanted it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [Cronulla] are playing great footy, they\u2019re high on confidence, we\u2019re a side that\u2019s low on confidence, when you get two sides like that, clearly the gap is considerable,\u201d Foran said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can get back to the sort of footy we were playing, the gap doesn\u2019t seem that big, but that\u2019s up to us, we need to work that out and walk towards it, which we will.\u201d<\/p>\n

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