Cronulla Sharks win 26-0 in the NSW Cup.

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Cronulla Sharks win 46-16 in the Toyota Cup.

Cronulla Sharks NSW Cup team win 21-20.

Sharks tries to Ian James, Josh Lewis, Taulima Tautai, Jamen McLeod.  Josh Lewis 3 goals.

Although they were facing extreme heat and an opposition side that looked to have a considerable size advantage, the game started well for the Sharks and they scored the first try of the game after a great pass by Scott Porter put Ian James through a huge gap, and he crossed the tryline and planted the ball down near the posts without being touched by the opposition.

Windsor were the next to score though, and the scores were tied at 6-6.

A dangerous looking attack by Windsor at the Sharks right-side defence near the Sharks line was snuffed out by in-form Cronulla Sharks half-back Josh Lewis, who intercepted a Windsor pass and ran the length of the field to score the second Sharks try.

The Sharks seemed to have most of the momentum for the rest of the first half and Taulima Tautai was able to barge through a few Windsor defenders to score the Cronulla Sharks third try of the game.

Windsor attempted a comeback, and another dangerous looking attack to the Sharks right-hand side defence was again defused by another Josh Lewis intercept near the Sharks line, but this time the cover defence were able to catch him, but not after he had run well into Windsor territory.

A penalty goal by Josh Lewis at the end of the first half saw the Cronulla Sharks leading 18-6 at half-time.

Windsor started the second-half strongly and an interception of a Scott Porter pass created Windsor’s second try of the game.

Another Windsor try was scored and the game moved into a battle of attrition where no points were scored.  At the 24th minute of the second half, Taulima Tautai was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.  Windsor continually attacked the Sharks line during those ten minutes and even crossed the line three times but failed to score.  Strong Cronulla Sharks defence managed to hold up the defender once and dislodge the ball on two occasions when it looked certain that Windsor would score.

A highlight during these ten minutes was Josh Lewis regathering his chip kick and making an evasive run downfield to set up the Cronulla Sharks attack near the Windsor line.  The Sharks failed to capitalise on this good field position but were able to hold the opposition scoreless while playing a man down for ten minutes.

When the Cronulla Sharks fullback Jamen McLeod scored in the corner with only 3 minutes remaining, it looked like the Cronulla Sharks NSW Cup side was headed for victory.  An unexpected converted try by Windsor in the final seconds made the entertaining game a draw.

Although named in the side, Isaac Gordon and Ben Pomeroy did not play in this game and Trent Grubb was also a late omission from the team.  Winger Tyler Jarden was added to the bench for the game.

Sharks tries to Daniel Rauicava, Ben Orcher.

On an unusually hot September afternoon, the Cronulla Sharks were eliminated from the 2009 NSW Cup competition, in a game where the temperature had it’s effect on tempers.  Numerous fights broke out, and players from both sides were sin-binned.

In the first-half, the Cronulla Sharks showed a superior ability to score tries, with two tries scored and a strong effort by Ryan Verlinden being held-up by the Bears defence.

The Sharks momentum was sometimes broken by stoppages in play due to fighting.  The old-school tactic of ‘putting on a stink’ to disturb the attacking teams momentum was used quite effectively by the Bears.

A highlight for the Cronulla Sharks in the first-half was the skill and composure of young fullback Ben Orcher.  He never failed to successfully defuse any high-balls, unlike the Bears’ fullback, and he showed the most class of any player on the field.

Although the second-half started well for the Sharks, with them crossing the Bears try-line again but being held-up again, the turning point came when Norths again resorted to rough but effective tactics.  With their long-kicking game being frustrated by Ben Orcher, they resorted to short kicks over the Cronulla Sharks defensive line.

One Bears kick saw Ben Orcher being tackled in the air, and clearly wounded by the experience.  He wasn’t replaced, but moved out onto the wing, where he had little involvement in the rest of the game.  Although the Sharks received a penalty from the Norths tactic, it took the Cronulla Sharks best Toyota Cup player in both 2008 and 2009 out of the game.

From then on the Cronulla Sharks exhibited woeful defence.  Unlike the previous week when their defence on their line was their weakness, in this game the defence in the middle of the field and the middle of the line was full of holes and weak points.  Norths ran straight through this, and ended up inflicting a big defeat on the Cronulla Sharks.