Sunday, 11th August, 2002 will go down as a famous day in the history of The Shire..

Not only did the Sharks send out a clear message to the Rugby League world, but they did it with style and undeniable class.. If there ever was a perfect game of football, the Sharks yesterday were pretty damn close to it..

The scoreline, in the end was 64-14, with Newcastle going in for 2 late tries.. But it definitely was Brett Kimmorley's day.. His first half performance has been touted as one of the most dominant individual displays of the modern era.. He had a hand in all 7 of the first half tries, scoring 2 of them himself.. His points tally of 28 is the most in Cronulla's history, and his 10 goals equal's the club record.. It was a tad disappointing seeing the Peach point to the sticks for the penalty kick so that BK could get his record.. It would've been nice to get to 70 points, just to rub it in to Joey and the Knights, and with 7 or so minutes remaining, you would think the Sharks would've gone in again.. Instead, the Knights scored 2 late tries to close the gap..

But that was about the only negative aspect of the game.. I'm sure all Sharks supporters (far & wide) were in dreamland for the 80 minutes yesterday... It just made it all the sweeter as it was against those Knights of Newcastle.. Sweet revenge for the shallacking they handed out earlier this year.. and sweet revenge for last year's prelim final loss...

This is what I thought of all the players...

Peachey - simply brilliant.. he is THE best captain we have ever had.. his first try, chasing the grubber, was out of this world...

Rieck - great intercept try in the 2nd half.. but was caught out on a number of occasions against Tahu...

McKenna - he is our rock in the midfield.. he got stood up by Heggarty last week, but bounced back with a great defensive performance...

Franze - a little quiet in this game, but he is slowly maturing into a quality player.. will be one of our strike weapons in the finals...

Mellor - a five star performance.. which one is he? a wrecking ball? or Frankenstein?! his 2nd try, palming off Quinn 3 times, will long live in my memory...

Mullane - signs of a promising future.. he stood up to the challange on his debut in a big big game...

Kimmorley - nothing more can be said about his performance...

Graham - his assignment marking Joey did not go unnoticed.. in attack, he didn't get much ball, but nothing can be done when your halfback is so dominant on the field...

Bickerstaff - some terrific hits and gained valuable metres coming out of our own half.. his hard hitting defence will play a major role in the finals...

Bailey - showed glimpses of why I regard him so highly (the next Hindmarsh).. but he needs to get involved more and work on his fitness...

Beattie - got away a couple of neat offloads.. you can really tell he has been working on this.. his defence was at his punishing best...

Treister - what a fighter! no one tries as hard as he does on the footy field.. he was again fearless against the bigger forwards...

Stevens - proved again that he is the best prop in the game today.. the little things might go unnoticed by the commentary team, but not here Jase!

Nutley - another tireless display.. his defence around the ruck was much better, and it'll have to be when the whips are cracking...

Gallen - made a couple of good breaks.. upper body strength impresses me no end.. support play is also improving...

Bosnich - the unsung hero of the team in my opinion.. he plays a roaming role, and has the strength and the footwork to be very valuable...

Gibson - his passing from dummy-half is faultless, which is important when playing a flat style.. a copybook tackling style, and not afraid to mix it with the big boys...

Add to that Johns, Campbell, Firman in the halves.. Best, Prince, McGoldrick, Taylor in the backs.. Bird, Sargent, Paterson, Pierce, Hilder in the forwards.. you have one awesome squad leading into the final series... I cannot wait!