Sharks Stun Manly’s Late Charge, Turning Up the Pressure on Daly Cherry-Evans

Cronulla put in a strong performance, finishing off with a resounding 30-14 victory against the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval on Sunday afternoon.

The match started poorly for the hosts, but a quick double from Tolu Koula in the second half shifted the momentum in favour of Manly.

However, their comeback was brief as the Sharks regrouped to score the last three tries, handing Manly their fourth loss in five games since captain Daly Cherry-Evans announced his departure from the club in 2026.

Ronaldo Mulitalo kicked off the scoring for the Sharks in the 11th minute, chasing down a clever chip kick from Nicho Hynes.

Not long after, Hynes was in the thick of the action once more when the Sea Eagles made a mistake in their own half, allowing Addin Fonua-Blake to race through and score without a challenge.

In the 25th minute, Tom Hazelton had to leave the field due to a shoulder injury sustained earlier in the match, and he did not return.

Manly’s Nathan Brown received a penalty and was placed on report for a crusher tackle, leaving Nine’s commentators puzzled.

“I’m not sure what he’s meant to do. He backs into the player and can’t just bail out of the tackle,” Andrew Johns commented.

Cronulla headed to the sheds with a 14-0 advantage amid a chorus of boos from the crowd at Brookvale Oval.

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After the break, Manly quickly switched play from side to side, culminating in a try for Koula that brought them back into the match.

Haumole Olakau’atu picked up the ball against the flow of play and charged down the field, before the ball moved through several hands to reach Koula, who scored again.

He soon completed a quick back-to-back double, managing to get past multiple Sharks defenders.

Garrick levelled the score with a penalty goal, but the setback for Manly came shortly after when a dropped ball in their own in-goal area resulted in a try for Braydon Trindall.

Just centimetres from the dead-ball line, Billy Burns managed to bring Garrick down, forcing him to lose the ball for Trindall to capitalise.

Mulitalo added a second try to his tally before KL Iro sealed the victory for the Sharks.

With this win, Cronulla positions itself in sixth place on the ladder, while the Sea Eagles slide down to eighth.