A dominant opening 40 minutes in Tamworth set the Sharks up for a 36-12 victory over the West Tigers last night.

This wins means the Sharks still maintain their place at the NRL top four.

Cronulla scored four converted tries and kicked a penalty to lead 26-6 at the break, but they never managed to fully shake off their stubborn opponents.

Four-pointers to Lachlan Miller and Matt Ikuvalu, which were both converted by Nicho Hynes, saw the Sharks score more than a point a minute through the first 10.

Tigers’ Fa’amanu Brown did hit back minutes later, but his effort was quickly cancelled out Hunt’s try and Kade Dykes getting over for the first of his NRL career.

Hamlin-Uele scored 12 minutes into the second stanza, before the Tigers hit back with nice try to second-rower Luke Garner.