Sharks fight to make it two in a row

Cronulla have fought their way off the bottom of the NRL ladder with an 18-10 win
over the Warriors at Toyota Stadium on Sunday to record back-to-back wins for the
first time this season.

The Sharks returned to their home ground full of confidence and sporting a new
attitude after breaking a horror run of nine successive defeats last week against
Parramatta.
Under the leadership of new captain Trent Barrett, after Paul Gallen relinquished
the role earlier this week, the Sharks ran in three-tries-to-two in front of 14,082
fans at Shark Park.
The under-pressure home side received a standing ovation when they left the field at
half-time with a 18-4 advantage after scoring three first half tries.
The Warriors were the first to score after the break and threatened a comeback
through a try to Lewis Brown in the 47th minute but the Sharks held on through some
desperate defence to relegate the Sydney Roosters to the bottom of the NRL ladder.
Sharks five-eighth Barrett, who led from the front, nailed a sweetly timed 40/20 to
inspire Cronulla's first try of the afternoon which came from centre Matt Wright in
the eighth minute after a brilliant pass from Reece Williams.
Another perfect kick from Barrett, this time cross-field to Manu Vatuvei's wing,
confused the big Kiwi who was looking into the sun, and Sharks second rower Anthony
Tupou scooped up the scraps to lead the home side to a 12-0 lead.
The Sharks were making easy metres out of dummy half and were worrying the Warriors
with their tight defence and a try to Nathan Stapleton in the 29th minute threatened
to shut the visitors out of the game.
But led by the experience of halfback Stacey Jones the Warriors got their first
points on the board just before halftime through Vatuvei, who was left unmarked on
the wing and recorded his 50th career try to make it 18-4 at the break.
New Sharks winger Kevin Locke, in just his second first-grade appearance, again
rewarded coach Ricky Stuart for his selection with a classy performance, while Luke
Covell had a perfect match with the boot, kicking three from three.