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Posted: 2022-05-22 03:31:32

Cronulla has returned to the winners' list by defeating Gold Coast 25-18 in wet conditions in Robina.

In Sunday's earlier match in Dubbo, Canberra celebrated its third win in a row after beating South Sydney 32-12.

Following an underwhelming move to fullback last weekend, Sharks captain Nicho Hynes returned to the number seven jersey in style, scoring a try and setting up another as the visitors ran in four tries to three.

Hynes then iced the game after a Titans' fightback with a last-minute field goal.

Former Australian rugby sevens international Lachie Miller, making his NRL debut at fullback for Cronulla, also shone in the wet.

The Olympian ran for 201 metres, made 10 tackle busts and scored a sensational breakaway try as the Sharks moved to 7-4 for the season.

A fortunate bounce from a Jayden Campbell bomb in the 53rd minute allowed the ball to fall into Miller's arms and the 27-year-old sprinted through a staggered Titans' line before streaking 70 metres to score.

His moment capped a three-try burst at the start of the second half where the Sharks took control of a game that had been locked 6-6 at half-time following tries from Gold Coast forward Jarrod Wallace and Cronulla centre Connor Tracey.

Hynes was central to the match-winning spell, finishing off a break by Ronaldo Mulitano in the 43rd minute to put his team ahead, before firing a wonderful pass in the 51st minute for Mulitano to dive over.

A smart gather by Wallace from Toby Sexton's grubber with nine minutes to play allowed the Titans prop to score his second try of the night and gave the hosts' hope.

Wallace and Sione Katoa then got into a scrap after the Titans forward took exception to the Cronulla winger's treatment of AJ Brimson.

From the resulting penalty against the Sharks, Masters scored to give the Titans a chance of an unlikely comeback before Hynes's ice-cool field goal conversion sealed the two competition points.

Papalii stars in Raiders' victory

A Canberra Raiders NRL player holds the ball as he is tackled by a South Sydney opponent.
Josh Papalii (left) was outstanding for the Raiders in his milestone match.(Getty Images: Mark Kolbe)

Canberra stalwart Josh Papalii has marked his 250th NRL match with a dominant display, as the Raiders stifled the Rabbitohs for a third straight win.

The Raiders scored four first-half tries in racing to a 20-0 lead, before completing a comfortable win.

The result breathes life into the Raiders' season, as they are now 5-6 after their campaign had earlier looked shaky, while the Rabbitohs boast that same record after losing three of their last five matches.

Fittingly, prop Papalii's made an early impact in his milestone match by powering over for a trademark try, shortly after returning star Jack Wighton had created an opener for winger Nick Cotric.

The Raiders' forwards looked hungry early and delivered plenty of big hits as they took control through the middle, with a huge goal-line shot from Papalii denying Liam Knight points at 8-0.

They again struck through the middle when hooker Tom Starling put a try on a platter for Hudson Young, before an electrifying team move saw a Corey Horsburgh flick pass create a line break that let Seb Kris cross to cap an outstanding half at 20-0.

Any chance of a patented Raiders fade out seemed put to bed early in the second half when a Jordan Rapana flick put Matt Timoko through, although the Rabbitohs finally got on the board on 52 minutes when hooker Damian Cook broke three tackles and scored for 24-6.

But Canberra withstood the surge and sealed the win through star youngster Xavier Savage, who flashed his pace and sliced through the Rabbitohs' line for his first try of the season.

Papalii ran for 116 metres to go with eight tackle busts and his try.

It was a lamentable display from the Rabbitohs, who completed just 61 per cent of their first-half sets and allowed a staggering 30 tackle breaks in that period.

They will end the round eighth on the table but teams are queuing up to remove them from the finals spots, with Manly, St George Illawarra and Canberra all also on five wins.

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AAP

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