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Sharks keep Rabbitohs winless

The Cronulla Sharks have resisted late pressure from the desperate South Sydney Rabbitohs to win 12-10 at the ANZ stadium on Monday night.

The win has brought the Sharks to equal first on the ladder. South Sydney remains at the bottom.

Both teams scored two tries, but it was the Sharks winger Luke Covell who proved to be the difference, scoring eight of the Sharks 12 points.

South Sydney failed to capitalise on their opportunities. They made more line breaks and penalties than the Sharks, and less errors and missed tackles.

After some costly mistakes from both teams, the first try was scored in the 13th minute. New Sharks skipper Greg Bird received a flat ball from Kevin Kingston 10 meters out from the Rabbithohs line. He pushed through the frail Rabbitohs defence to score his second try of the season.

Referee Jason Robinson gave the Sharks a penalty in the 30th minute which allowed them to extend their lead to 8-0.

Two minutes later, the Sharks produced an impressive team try. 10 meters out from the tryline, they sent the ball from the left side of the field to the right, through a series of quick passes and offloads. They got the ball back to the middle, and Brett Seymour put in an impeccable grubber kick for the surging Covell. Covell was unable to convert his try, and the score remained 12-0.

In the final seconds of the first-half, the Rabbitohs hit back. Off the back of a goal-line dropout, Souths worked their way to within a few meters from scoring. Five-eighth John Sutton made a crafty left-foot step and finally unlocked the Sharks defence. Nathan Merritt converted to reduce the deficit to six.

The next points were not scored until the 58th minute. Beau Champion received a defence- splitting pass from Jeremy Smith and scored in the left corner. Nathan Merritt was unable to level up the match.

This week, Jason Taylor had blamed himself for Souths winless start to the season. His desperation was illustrated after this try when he left the coacher’s box and called the entire team to the sideline for some quick instructions.

However it was not enough for the Rabbitohs. David Kidwell blew their final opportunity in the final minute of the match when he dropped the ball.

South Sydney will have to wait until next Sunday to see if they can break the duck, when they take on West Tigers at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Sharks will look to consolidate their position in the top four when they play the Panthers at Toyota Stadium next Saturday.

NRL 2008 - Round Five:

CRONULLA SHARKS - 12

Tries: Greg Bird, Luke Covell
Goals: Luke Covell 2/3

SOUTH SYDNEY - 10

Tries: John Sutton, Beau Champion
Goals: Nathan Merritt 1/2

Crowd: 12,988 @ ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Jason Robinson Half Time: Cronulla 12-6