After half a century of waiting including three losing grand final appearances in 1973, 1978 and 1997, the Sydney beachside outfit finally shed their bridesmaids tag and captain Paul Gallen cemented his place in Sharks immortality with a gritty 14-12 win over the Storm in front of a capacity ANZ Stadium crowd.
After being thoroughly dominated in the first half and behind 8-0, the Melbourne juggernaut finally began rolling in the second-half with captain Cameron Smith converting two quick tries to Kiwis international Jesse Bromwich and centre Will Chambers to claim an unlikely four-point advantage.
But just as the Storm threatened to break the hearts of long-suffering Sharks fans, controversial Sharks forward Andrew Fifita wrestled his way past five defenders for his side's second try with outstanding five-eighth James Maloney adding the extras off the boot to reclaim a match-winning two-point lead.
Read the full report at NZ Herald
