Powerhouse centre Siosifa Talakai has powered Cronulla Sharks to a commanding 34-22 win over Manly Sea Eagles in their NRL clash at PointsBet Stadium on Thursday.
Talakai scored two tries and set up three others in a first-half display that reaffirmed his status as one of the game's emerging stars.
The 25-year-old terrorised the Sea Eagles' right edge to power the Sharks to a 32-0 lead at halftime to essentially slam the gate shut on the contest.
Manly made a spirited comeback to win the second half 22-0 but the damage was already well and truly done.
After his debut with the Rabbitohs in 2016, Talakai dropped out of the NRL, until being handed a lifeline by the Sharks in 2020, where he's improved steadily until this season's breakthrough campaign.
Talakai needed just 90 seconds to make his first imprint on the game, beating his marker Morgan Harper to the line, an act he repeated 15 minutes later on a nightmare evening for the Manly centre, who coach Des Hasler eventually replaced at halftime.
Five minutes later, he drew a slew of defenders before popping a miracle offload under duress for wing Ronaldo Mulitalo to score.
Moments after sending Mulitalo in for his second try of the evening, Talakai produced the highlight of the game, stepping inside Harper at halfway and sprinting 40m untouched, before grubbering for Will Kennedy to pounce upon and dot down.
The Sea Eagles turned the tide with four second-half tries but couldn't get any closer than 10 points, as a fatigued Sharks side banged over one final late penalty to increase their buffer.
The result sees the Sharks move up to third on the NRL ladder, while the Sea Eagles drop to sixth.
The Sharks now travel to Brisbane to take on the Broncos next Thursday, while the Sea Eagles are away to South Sydney on Friday.
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