Nicho Hynes returned from a quad strain and after a few first-half rocks,was back churning out diamonds after half-time,setting up tries for Jack Williams and Braydon Trindall before Ronaldo Mulitalo scooted across to settle the finals race.
The Sharks No.1 jersey might not be so easily pinned down though,given a knee issue forced Connor Tracey to finish early and he battled for much of the day under Jamal Fogarty’s aerial assault.
“[Tracey] jammed his knee a little bit,” Craig Fitzgibbon said after shifting Hynes to fullback for the last 10 minutes.
“We’re not certain exactly what that might be… It could be something,it could be nothing.”
Sione Katoa recovered from the horror tackle to score the last of Cronulla’s five tries.Credit:Getty
Fitzgibbon has axed playmaker Matt Moylan as a fullback option if Tracey is passed in,while Italian international Daniel Atkinson has been playing at the back in NSW Cup,but has only played two minutes of NRL this year.
In any case,Cronulla will be back on their own turf next week playing host to the Roosters. Canberra will head up the highway to face the high-flying Knights.
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But throughout a first half dominated by the boot of Jamal Fogarty,one last twist in an NRL season loomed,not to mention a 10th straight Raiders triumph over the Sharks.
Where Hynes was failing to send a kick for touch anywhere near the sideline and Cronulla made more than their fair share of errors,Canberra played with rare composure.
They could easily have led by more than their 6-4 half-time advantage but for a few different bounces of the ball and Rapana grounding a try after his second leap over Tracey.
“You do need a bit of luck in this game,” Stuart mused afterwards. I don’t know if anyone knows we’re in the finals,we weren’t meant to be. I am that proud of these blokes,they’ve exceeded everybody’s expectations.”
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