[ad_1]
Jason McCawley / Getty Images
Sharks running back Chad Townsend (center) was ejected for a nasty shoulder load on Kalyn Ponga.
With three weeks left before the NRL finals, Cronulla’s season is in danger of imploding after a 38-10 loss to Newcastle in which Chad Townsend was sent off for a terror shot on Kalyn Ponga.
The Sharks running back was taken off the field by referee Ben Cummins after throwing a shoulder charge at the Knights’ three-shot hero Ponga, who was taking a bunt, midway through the second half.
Townsend is the third NRL player sent off this season, after Addin Fonua-Blake and Kevin Proctor.
The savage strike caused an uproar and forced the Sharks to play one less man, and Sharks coach John Morris wasn’t sure if Townsend’s punishment suited his crime.
READ MORE:
* Kodi playmaker Nikorima enjoys additional responsibility in tipping the Warriors final
* Todd Payten will leave the Warriors after being confirmed as coach of the North Queensland Cowboys
* Warriors team is almost complete for next season, only a few spots left to fill
“It’s a shoulder load. There was force there and his arm was bent. If it was an ejection, I’m not so sure,” Morris said.
“Maybe he could have stayed on the field, but rules are rules.
“I’m sorry for Chaddy. I don’t think he’s ever been expelled for sin in his career, much less expelled.
“He’s not the type to play like that, but he was trying to change the momentum of the game, he fired from the line and tried to make a tackle and was wrong.”
To add insult to injury, Friday’s loss could cost Cronulla captain Wade Graham, Toby Rudolf and Braden Hamlin Uele some time.
All three were placed in the report for two separate lifting rigs.
Ashley Feder / Getty Images
Kalyn Ponga shrugged off the high shot to score a hat-trick for the Knights.
The seven attempts to two at McDonald Jones Stadium further affected the Sharks’ record in 2020, as they have yet to beat a top-eight team.
Increasing the urgency is that the Warriors are hot on their heels just four points from drift with one game in hand, putting Cronulla’s spot in the top eight up for grabs with three regular season rounds down. to play.
The Warriors may be within two points of Cronulla if they beat Parramatta on Sunday before facing the Sharks next weekend.
Losing a handful of stars, Cronulla struggled with leadership, but a litany of mistakes ruined their chances when they found possession.
Young Knights winger Starford To’a scored two attempts in the first 17 minutes and Ponga also had a double in the first half.
Queensland star Ponga was electrifying on offense, gliding through a soft defense for three attempts, his first hat-trick in the NRL, while Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Josh King also crossed.
“(Ponga) gets a lot of criticism, and rightly so because of how talented he is, but he’s a tough guy,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said.
“From what he controls, and he does every week, they’re looking to rip his head off and get into him and he keeps fighting all the way.”
Except for the attempts of Ronaldo Mulitalo and Connor Tracey, the Sharks were undisciplined and disorganized.
It was a great rebound for the Knights after last week’s 30-point loss to the Warriors and nearly consolidated their place in the final.
