It was a successful weekend for the young Sharks, coming away from 4 Pines Park with two wins, a draw and a loss against the Sea Eagles in round four of the junior representative competitions.
First up on Saturday, the under-17 Harold Matthews men's side roared into the top four with a thumping 40-6 victory over the previously unbeaten Sea Eagles, improving their season record to three wins and one loss.
That was followed by a 28-20 triumph in the under-19 SG Ball clash. Cronulla led 20-0 at halftime and were almost overrun by Manly, who levelled the scores with 15 minutes remaining, but the visitors rallied to see off the challenge.
On Sunday, the under-17 Lisa Fiaola women's side were brave as they went into the break down 8-6 before the Sea Eagles skipped away with a 22-6 win.
In the final fixture, the under-19 Tarsha Gale Sharks salvaged an 18-18 draw after trailing by eight with seven minutes remaining. Unconverted tries to Koreti Leilua and Arianna Ruwoldt squared the ledger in the nick of time.
Harold Matthews coach Brad Kelly was pleased that his troops kept up the intensity for the entirety of the game after some patchy performances.
"We stuck to what we've been practising and they saw how it works," he said.
"A big thing in last week's game was the amount of errors we made and they were really clean with that (against the Sea Eagles).
"We had a lot of possession, completed really well, kicked really well, did all the little things really well, all the hard work off the ball.
"That's the stuff that pays off in the end.
"We scored some good tries and only had the one blemish with one try getting scored against us. The defensive efforts were really good and our attack was just nice and simple, played through the middle."
Meanwhile, SG Ball coach Dave Howlett noted his side didn't fully take advantage of their momentum in the opening 35 minutes but were "good enough to dig themselves out of a hole" when Manly had the ascendancy.
"I thought we played well in the first half but just didn't quite respect the football enough to get the points to reflect our dominance," Howlett said.
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Round 4 Results
Lisa Fiaola Cup - Sharks 6 lost to Manly 22
Tarsha Gale Cup Cup - Sharks 18 drew with Manly 18
Harold Matthews Cup - Sharks 40 defeated Manly 6
SG Ball Cup - Sharks 28 defeated Manly 20
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See links below to photo galleries from the Round 4 Sharks games against Manly on Saturday, 24th March 2024 thanks to Cronulla JRL Photographer - Adam Wrightson.
Remember to follow the Cronulla JRL website and social media channels for all the action and excitement from the 2024 NSWRL junior representative season.
Harold Matthews Cup - Round 4 - Sharks vs Manly
View the full gallery of photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4k6NCgmqBFvcA8aL8
SG Ball Cup - Round 4 - Sharks vs Manly
View the full gallery of photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BZMRQZ9YzfzqyQ5RA