Dominant displays from halves Shaun Johnson and Chad Townsend have lifted the Sharks to their third win in four matches – a 40-22 win over old rivals Manly.
While the Sea Eagles were out of sorts and badly missed star duo Tom Trbojevic and Dylan Walker after last week’s impressive win over Canberra, the Sharks threw their name into the finals picture.
Flashy winger Sione Katoa made it five tries in seven days with a double, but it was the dominant performances of Johnson and Townsend, and a huge effort from the Cronulla pack, that got the job done.
The Sharks made sure of the win by scoring five tries within 23 minutes either side of half-time.
Over the 80 minutes, Townsend had three try assists and Johnson two for a team that is now on the verge of the top eight.
In a performance they’d rather forget, one shining light for Manly was prop Addin Fonua-Blake. The Tongan international added two tries to his usual strong running game.
