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Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes have produced attacking masterclasses to spearhead the Sharks 66-0 humiliation of the Dolphins, and in doing so, announced themselves as genuine premiership contenders.
It was a tale of two halves as five-eighth Trindall celebrated his 27th birthday by having his fingerprints over everything as his side charged to a 24-point halftime lead at their rivals’ spiritual home.
While the Sharks were denied two tries early through some strong Dolphins defence, Trindall did not panic – regularly kicking to corners to slowly but surely build pressure.
The Dolphins’ decision not to take the two points on a close range penalty came back to haunt them after Thomas Flegler was found to have lost possession attempting to score, and after Cronulla charged back down field, Oregon Kaufusi showcased his strength to open the scoring.
It was from that moment Trindall went to work – his pinpoint grubber brilliantly chased by KL Iro to extend their lead.
On the Sharks’ very next set, an exceptional kick chase on the Trindall bomb drove Jamayne Isaako into touch from more than 10 metres in field. His decision to then run the ball on the last tackle four minutes later also reaped rewards for Sione Katoa after Will Kennedy’s delicate kick of his own.
But for all the tricks Trindall had pulled out, his best was still to come – a spiralling Harbour Bridge pass for Ronaldo Mulitalo to cross untouched silencing the Redcliffe crowd and make the procession four tries in just 15 minutes.
By the second half, Hynes took over; scoring twice and finishing with three try assists, three linebreak assists and 11 goals – his 30 points the most by a Shark.
In contrast, when the Dolphins did have opportunities, they barely troubled the Sharks defence, having been lauded premiership contenders until what was an insipid Saturday performance.
Aside from Flegler’s mistake, and Tevita Naufahu being dragged into touch late in the opening stanza, any chance they got in the Cronulla red zone was easily diffused, and shone a harsh light on what they are missing without halfback Isaiay Katoa.
The 22-year-old will miss at least another two weeks after suffering a fractured arm against the Warriors in round 17, with his replacement Brad Schneider unable to pose as many questions or link up with halves partner Kodi Nikorima as effectively.
Katoa’s ability to dig deep into the defensive line has been pivotal in igniting Nikorima and unleashing his strike weapons – spearheaded by Herbie Farnworth. The young No.7 leads the competition for linebreak involvements (20) and sits in the NRL’s top five for line engagements (81).
But without him, the Dolphins rarely caused trouble – Farnworth limited to just 28 running metres from four carries in the opening half, with the side failing to register a linebreak
Coach Kristian Woolf rested State of Origin superstars Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Selwyn Cobbo, while Blues debutant Jack Bostock was unavailable after suffering concussion on Wednesday night.
Max Plath and Flegler both backed up, but were unable to ignite a forward pack collective in which each member of the pack failed to surpass 70 metres for the afternoon.
Plath limped off early in the second half with an ankle injury, and was forced to watch the Sharks break away after back-to-back defensive sets on their line as he did.
Cronulla scored from that opportunity, with Hynes putting Iro over for his second try. From their next set, some ad lib play from Trindall and Hynes put Jesse Ramien over, before Hynes cleaned up a dropped Trindall bomb to score himself and Katoa picked up his second.
A simple short pass from Hynes back on the inside for Tom Hazelton to bring up the half-century was symbolic of how far the Dolphins faded – with no supporting defenders coming in a lazy display. Equally flimsy tackle attempts allowed Hynes to stroll through, with a Hazelton break with a minute remaining creating the chance for Ramien to claim a brace.
The result ensures Kayo Stadium has been an unhappy hunting ground for the Dolphins in 2026 – having lost 52-18 against Manly earlier in the season.
But it was across the board the Dolphins struggled to make an impact – completing just 14 of 22 sets in the first half, a figure which only marginally improved to 69 per cent for the match.
The result follows last week’s 13-12 defeat to Newcastle which ended an eight-game winning run, with one of the game’s most lethal attacking units suddenly looking far from it since Katoa was sidelined. It marked the first time in their history they had been kept scoreless, with Trindall producing two try-savers on a runaway Isaako.
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