The Cronulla Sharks have held off a fast finishing North Queensland Cowboys side to book their place in the preliminary finals with an eight-point win at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday evening.
The Sharks did all of the damage during the first half, running on four tries before the break to take what was ultimately an unassailable lead.
The first of those tries came after a tense start to the game with neither side giving an inch before Braydon Trindall was ruled to have been tackled off the ball in a try-scoring situation.
The bunker's ruling ensured a penalty try would get things going, with Cameron McInnes then crashing over in the very next set for the men in black, white and blue, the lead quickly spinning out to 12 points.
Nicho Hynes was involved in the lead-up to the second try and had a better performance than he has had in weeks during the game, but it was Trindall who was the star of the show for Craig Fitzgibbon's side.
The Cowboys continued to hang in the contest, but spent much of the first half on the back foot, and a weight of possession eventually told, with Trindall himself scoring in the 31st minute, before Ronaldo Mulitalo scored on the stroke of halftime.
It was a different ball game on the other side of the break though, with the Cowboys scoring in the first couple of minutes of the second half to put the visitors on the board.
Reuben Cotter would score the next try for the Cowboys in the 54th minute, and it appeared it was game on, but the Sharks were then able to get their mojo back and sit on the front foot for much of the remainder of the game.
They had two disallowed tries during that period, but a 65th minute penalty goal pushed the lead out to three scores with a quarter of an hour to go.
A 69th minute try - the second of the game for Valentine Holmes - saw the Cowboyus hang in the picture, but that was the end of the scoring as the hosts managed to run out an eight-point victory.
The Cowboys' loss was soured further by Kyle Feldt and Valentine Holmes finishing the game on the sideline with injuries.
Cronulla will now move through to a preliminary final - likely next Saturday evening - against the Penrith Panthers at Homebush.
Match summary
Cronulla Sharks 26 (Braydon Tindall [2], Cameron McInnes, Ronaldo Mulitalo; Conversions: Nicho Hynes 4/4, Penalty Goals: Nicho Hynes 1/1) defeat North Queensland Cowboys 18 (Tries: Valentine Holmes [2], Reuben Cotter; Conversions: Valentine Holmes 2/2, Scott Drinkwater 1/1)
