If not for the intervention of the video referee, Trindall would have nabbed a couple of four-pointers of his own. Wearing jersey No.23, he crossed for what would have been the sneakiest try of all time when he stole the Steeden from teammate Jesse Ramien to cross the stripe. Sadly, an obstruction in the lead up rendered it null and void.

It is the sort of ad-lib football that has resulted in Cronulla scoring more points than any other team this year.

Tracey also played his part. The former Souths utility, having overcome a series of cruel injuries, scored a try of his own in a composed performance. All of a sudden, Morris' selection headaches are welcome ones.

There were plenty of highlights, like Sione Katoa joining Alex Johnston at the top of the try-scorer’s list with an acrobatic put-down from a sublime Will Kennedy cut-out pass. But what would have pleased Morris most is keeping the Cowboys scoreless for 72 minutes.

It started well enough for the visitors. They didn’t score a single point in 80 minutes of football but suddenly found themselves in front here after just six. Kyle Feldt crossed off one of those fashionable rainbow passes, executed perfectly by Scott Drinkwater, to raise hopes of an upset. But that was as good as it got.

Shortly afterwards, Michael Morgan was off injured, likely for the rest of the year. This time it was a calf problem, one requiring scans to determine the damage. This was already a tough ask for the Cowboys without the sidelined Jason Taumalolo. The further loss of their inspirational halfback and captain proved too much.

It was an unhappy homecoming for Valentine Holmes, playing against his former club at Cronulla’s ‘home’ ground for the first time.

Some grudges never get old. As they were making their way up the tunnel at half-time, two opposing players had a go at each other. It came as no surprise to learn the spat involved Josh McGuire and Andrew Fifita. They don’t like each other when it’s state against state and they are certainly not mates. This time McGuire won’t be able to tweet about losers having meetings.

What transpired before the game had almost as much impact on the prospects of both clubs as what happened during it. In the preceding match, the Warriors upset Newcastle. This is significant because they remain just two wins behind the Sharks, who need to keep winning to ensure their finals spot.

It could also be a positive development for North Queensland, given they are on the lookout for a coach with upside. The claims of Warriors coach Todd Payten, pitching up for Paul Green’s old job, just got stronger.