Blayke Brailey was all the rage at Shark Park as he put on a clinic out of dummy-half to guide Cronulla to a 31-18 win over the Sydney Roosters.
The hooker was a constant threat around the ruck as he tormented the Chooks with his running game and deception to claim two try assists and a linebreak during a dominant performance.
It’s the second match in a row where he has registered two assists for his team, while he cracked the 100 run metre mark for just the third time this season.
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Blayke Brailey sheds ‘underestimated’ tag as Sharks' No.9 stuns
Brailey's red-hot run has helped the Sharks arrest their form slump and ease to back-to-back victories.
Craig Fitzgibbon’s side has now got a straightforward run to the finals as they take on just one side in the top eight during their remaining fixtures.
That is in the last round of the regular season against Canterbury. Prior to that, they face off against the likes of South Sydney, Gold Coast and Newcastle.
With Brailey in arguably career-best touch behind a powerful pack starting to live up to its billing as one of the best in the competition, the Sharks have suddenly emerged as a dark horse in the premiership race.
"I think he’s underestimated and has been for a while, but now all of a sudden people are onto it," Fitzgibbon said of his No.9 post-match.
"Obviously, he has been our Player of the Year for the past two seasons, so we feel like he’s consistent.
"Probably the most important thing is what he’s doing for our halves. The spine is starting to organise and get better."
However, the Cronulla coach argued Brailey’s recognition had been a long time coming after constantly being a standout in the Shire.
"We’ve been playing far stronger footy in the past few years and no one was saying anything about him," the coach stated.
"We haven’t been playing that well the past six weeks and everyone’s talking about Blayke. So, it doesn’t make any sense to me when you look at it that way. But he’s added to his game, that’s for sure.
"And that’s a fair compliment for a kid who has busted his backside for the last 120-odd straight games and now he’s getting some recognition."
Meanwhile, Cameron McInnes was also glowing in his appraisal of his teammate.
"The way the game works is when he runs and makes a linebreak, he’s playing good footy," McInnes said.
"But he’s been playing good footy for four years.
"His highlight moments are what everyone is looking at now. He has them plus all of the little stuff he does for our team."
"If I played hooker and he plays hooker, I didn’t play hooker," McInnes laughed when asked for his assessment as a fellow dummy-half. "I was nowhere near his level of capabilities."