Canberra 24 Cronulla 36

IT WAS a night for rarities. A player penalised for making a tackle on a player - get this - making a tackle. The Sharks, not noted for their attack, playing dry-weather football in wet and woolly weather, and scoring a heap of points.

But it was a night for a true rarity: a 250-game halfback.

Brett Kimmorley, while admitting the prospect of players reaching the milestone is becoming less likely, was singled out for special praise by his coach, Ricky Stuart, after producing one of his best displays of his 250 in defeating Canberra.

"I've seen Brett play a lot of strong games of football, great games of football - he's a great halfback - but tonight would be certainly up there in one of his great performances," Stuart said. "He's in some of the best form of his career. It's great to be able to have him there, being that inspiration."

Bulldogs-bound Kimmorley was presented with a specially embroidered jumper the night before the game, with Stuart urging his teammates to win for the departing halfback. But even after 250 games, the 31-year-old is still learning. "It's funny, being old, I'm getting the idea now of the way you build pressure, the way you create tries," he said afterwards. "It mightn't happen on the first set of six, but eventually you wear them down and it does happen."

They did that last night, even after trailing 12-0 on the back of the brilliance of opposing halfback Todd Carney, who scored a try and set up another in the first 13 minutes.

Just as the weather was turning, so was the contest, the Sharks scoring three tries in seven minutes to lead by 18-12 at half-time, and going on with the job in the second, to record their fifth consecutive win and their fourth straight in Canberra. They did so, at least according to Raiders coach Neil Henry, amid a poor performance by referee Sean Hampstead as well as a bizarre injury to his captain Alan Tongue, who is expected to be sidelined for up to three weeks with a rib injury suffered after being hit by Sharks winger Misi Taulapapa in something of a "reverse prowler".

Taulapapa was penalised, yet Henry felt he should have been placed on report, suggesting he felt he has a case to answer before the judiciary.

"Taulapapa comes in and buries his shoulder into the ribs of one of our guys, who's defending," Henry said. "It doesn't go on report, it's illegal, we lose a player. I don't know how that works … You certainly don't expect to get hit in the side - he had his back to the man coming in, so it was an unusual thing for him to do."

Unusual according to Henry. Unfortunate according to Stuart.

"He got Alan up under the ribcage," he said. "But Misi's going in trying to stop the momentum of the tackle, going over the sideline and/or going backwards.

"It's common, you see it in the game a lot. It was unfortunate he got him in the wrong spot, but you see that happen every week."

Henry was more harsh on Hampstead. Asked if he felt the referee was up to first-grade standards, he said: "To me, I think there's a question mark. Sean Hampstead has had problems with officiating the ruck all year, and Robert Finch would acknowledge that, and I think he's still got huge problems with that area of the game. Hands in the ruck or whatever - certainly slowing things down.

"As a referee, I just think he's way off the mark with what he does on the field."

Stuart responded: "I think [Henry] was a bit off the mark there. Both teams had to play under the same conditions."

Those conditions were also wet, cold and greasy. The Sharks simply handled them better.

CRONULLA 36 (L Covell 2 B Ross I De Gois B Pomeroy D Simmons tries L Covell 6 goals) bt CANBERRA 24 (T Carney B Goodwin R Hinchcliffe D Milne tries T Carney 4 goals) at Canberra Stadium. Ref: S Hampstead. Crowd: 9,136.