Sharks hold off spirited Dragons in Flanagan's return

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Cronulla have spoiled Shane Flanagan's return to Shark Park, claiming a 20-10 win over St George Illawarra that keeps them firmly locked in top spot on the NRL ladder.

Coaching against Cronulla for the first time since being ousted in 2018, Flanagan returned to PointsBet Stadium on Sunday desperately hoping his Dragons side could find some of the grit that made his premiership-winning Sharks outfit so feared and revered.

The Red V's form has been inconsistent all season and a trip to face their nearest rivals came a week on from their humiliating 60-18 Anzac Day loss to the Sydney Roosters.

And though Cronulla pulled away in the final quarter of an hour, the heart and hunger the Dragons showed would undoubtedly have buoyed Flanagan.

The victory was the Sharks' eighth-straight in this fixture and keeps Craig Fitzgibbon's men in first spot ahead of a trip to second-placed Melbourne next Saturday.

Cronulla looked to be on course for a routine win when they hit the lead after 13 minutes as prop Oregon Kaufusi burst through some flailing Dragons defence to put the home side ahead.

But the Dragons, clearly stinging from last week's gaping loss to the Roosters, played with a harder, more resilient edge

Saints eventually earned their reward when captain Ben Hunt sent Mikaele Ravalawa over in the right hand corner.

And while Zac Lomax missed his first conversion attempt, the Parramatta-bound centre made no mistake when converting Ravalawa's second try of the afternoon from a near identical position on the stroke of half-time.

Leading 10-6 at the interval, the Dragons' hopes of pulling away from the Sharks were dampened as the winds picked up and Nicho Hynes began to work his magic.

The Cronulla halfback sent Siosifa Talakai rampaging over the top of Hunt for a 12-10 lead before the game fell into a grinding battle of attrition.

A break from Sione Katoa was the catalyst, with Hynes holding the ball before sending towering prop Tom Hazleton crashing over from close range.

Hynes nudged the conversion and added a penalty to run down the clock in the final 10 minutes to wrap up the win.