Ronaldo Mulitalo Slams Cronulla Sharks After Brutal NRL Finals Exit
- He described the defeat as s***house and lamented a poor farewell for departing club greats.
- The match at Allianz Stadium began with a cascade of misfortune for Cronulla.
- Mulitalo acknowledged the disruption caused by the early injuries but refused to use them as an excuse for the lopsided scoreline.
He described the defeat as s***house and lamented a poor farewell for departing club greats. The heavy loss eliminated the Sharks from the NRL finals series and brought a sudden end to a campaign that had secured a top-four position as late as August before slipping to fifth place.
Mulitalo blasts Sharks after season-ending Roosters rout
Early injuries unravel Cronulla’s finals campaign
The match at Allianz Stadium began with a cascade of misfortune for Cronulla. Halfback Nicho Hynes was ruled out of the contest in under three minutes after failing a Head Injury Assessment following a tackle attempt. Shortly afterward, centre Mawene Hiroti suffered a suspected posterior cruciate ligament injury after colliding with an advertising hoarding while chasing a kick. Sydney capitalised on the depleted side, with Lindsay Collins opening the scoring before the Roosters ultimately ran in six tries, five of which came after the interval.
Refusing excuses for a dominant forward pack
Mulitalo acknowledged the disruption caused by the early injuries but refused to use them as an excuse for the lopsided scoreline. The winger stated that replacements needed to step up and pointed to a failure to control the middle of the field against a dominant Roosters forward pack.
We obviously lost Nicho pretty early, which doesn’t help, and then we lost our centre, so it was a whole new edge out there. But this is the NRL: if you’re not good enough to step up then you shouldn’t be in here. No excuses, just rat’s arse.
Ronaldo Mulitalo via Fox Sports
A scoreless second half seals the exit
Despite an 18-10 deficit at halftime that kept mathematical hopes alive, the Sharks failed to register points in the second half. Mulitalo noted that the team saved its worst performance for the final fixture of the year.
The defeat carries added weight for a departing contingent of Cronulla players. Club captain Cam McInnes is leaving to join the Super League, while cult heroes Siosifa Talakai, Sione Katoa, Mawene Hiroti, and Jesse Ramien also bid farewell to the club. Mulitalo expressed deep regret that several members of the 2019 NSW Cup premiership-winning group finished their tenure with such a heavy finals defeat.
Those guys deserved better. Cam McInnes, Sifa Talakai, Sione Katoa have served this club well. It’s just s***house that this is their last memory.
Ronaldo Mulitalo via Fox Sports
Fitzgibbon and Roosters look ahead
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon echoed the sentiment that external factors conspired against his side during the knockout fixture, noting in his post-match comments that what possibly could have gone wrong, did go wrong. The emphatic victory advances the Sydney Roosters into a preliminary final clash against the Dolphins, while Cronulla enters the off-season to address the roster gaps left by their departing veterans.
