A Nicho Hynes field goal has handed the Cronulla Sharks a crucial two competition points after a golden point victory over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

It will be a Thomas Burgess high shot on Ronaldo Mulitalo which will snatch the headlines from the game though, with the English-born forward now to face a nervous wait for the match review committee to release their findings tomorrow morning.

With three and a half minutes remaining in the second period of golden point - and with the Sharks on halfway, looking to make a break down the left-hand side - Burgess hit Mulitalo with a wild swinging arm, catching him high.

The out of control tackle was sent off almost immediately by referee Gerard Sutton, with Burgess becoming the second player to be sent off this weekend after Nathan Cleary suffered the same treatment for a dangerous throw on Parramatta Eels' five-eighth Dylan Brown on Friday evening.

Burgess' penalty from the match review committee will be assisted by the fact it's his first offence of the season, however, it will be intriguing to see which grade he receives.

While a Grade 1 careless high tackle would be worthy of a fine, any other penalty wouldn't be.

The NRL's new judiciary code means that with an early guilty plea, he could receive anywhere from one to five matches as follows:

  • Grade 1 careless high tackle: $1000 fine (early guilty plea) or $1500 fine
  • Grade 2 careless high tackle: one match (early guilty plea) or two matches
  • Grade 3 careless high tackle: two matches (early guilty plea) or three matches
  • Grade 1 reckless high tackle (grade 4): three matches (early guilty plea) or four matches
  • Grade 2 reckless high tackle (grade 5): four matches (early guilty plea) or five matches
  • Grade 3 reckless high tackle (grade 6): five matches (early guilty plea) or six matches

In a game which ebbed and flowed, it was a Mulitalo try which captured the imaginations of fans earlier in the piece, however, a lead the Sharks ultimately couldn't hang onto as a controversial Tevita Tatola try - which was referred for a potential double movement - was eventually awarded just a minute and 40 seconds from fulltime.

The win leaves the Sharks provisionally in third position, although a Brisbane Broncos win could push them back to fourth, while the Rabbitohs sit in seventh place and won't move before the end of the round.

The Sharks play the St George Illawarra Dragons next weekend, while the Rabbitohs host the New Zealand Warriors on the Sunshine Coast, with both games on Saturday.