Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has conceded his side was embarrassed by a team filled with reserve graders in Sunday night's convincing loss to the Sharks.
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After jumping out to an 18-0 lead early, the Raiders were totally outplayed for 60 minutes to fall to an undermanned Cronulla squad 36-22.
The hosts were without a number of stars, with Dale Finucane leading a contingent of injured forwards.
In their place stood a number of players from the Sharks' feeder team Newtown. Substitute prop Jack Williams dominated through the middle to lead the team to the victory.
Stuart cut a forlorn figure post-game, with the mood in the Raiders dressing room fairly grim.
The coach didn't hide his disappointment when talking to the media while praising the Sharks for shocking his squad.
"We started to lose momentum, frustration crept in and once you get frustrated like that and things aren't going your way [it's hard to turnaround]," Stuart said. "That was a massive win for [Craig Fitzgibbon] and his team, massive.
"That was half of Newtown in there and our second grade were as poor yesterday. That was a massive win for that NRL team there, Cronulla. They deserve recognition for it because they've been hit by a lot of injuries, they've got a lot of Newtown boys in there, second graders and they got the job done where our blokes didn't."
Losers
No lead is safe
The Raiders were cruising throughout the first half, leading 18-0 after 24 minutes and in complete control of the contest.
The match turned on a successful Sharks challenge, with a knock on deep in their own half overturned to become a Cronulla penalty.
The hosts rolled straight down the field and scored moments later, and suddenly it was 18-18 after they added another two converted tries before half-time.
The Shark attack continued in the second half, with the side jumping out to a 30-18 lead.
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Canberra fought gamely to reel their opponents in and James Schiller cut the deficit in the final 10 minutes, but it was too little too late.
It's the second-straight week the Raiders allowed a lead to slip through their grasp, Stuart declaring it's part of a bigger concern.
"They got a bit of momentum and they got their tails up and we couldn't pin them back, but we weren't going to pin them back with the way we were playing," he said. "We won't be forgetting that night real quickly, I can promise you. It was really poor and it'll be dealt with."
Winners
Stuart didn't mince words when expressing his opinion on whether any of his players deserved praise after Sunday's performance.
"Nobody was solid, mate," he said. "There wasn't a player on our team that was solid. Don't be giving praise to people who don't deserve it."