Broncos in charge at Shark Park

The Broncos looked on track to extend Cronulla's 2008 home game hoodoo, leading 6-4 at the break in their round 10 NRL fixture at a rainy Shark Park on Saturday evening.

Brisbane has defeated the Sharks on seven of their last eight encounters, and the home side has an unenviable 0-2 record at Shark Park.

The Broncos played dominant football in the first half, enjoying the majority of possession and constantly pushing towards the Cronulla line, while the Sharks struggled with handling errors in the pounding rain.

The visitors were rewarded when Tonie Carroll dived on a Michael Ennis grubber kick that evaded two Sharks defenders, but Cronulla winger Misi Taulapapa hit back with his own four-pointer minutes before the break.

Both sides were depleted by injury and representative responsibility, the Sharks losing Paul Gallen and Greg Bird to the Blues' State of Origin squad and Reece Williams to a knee complaint.

The Broncos fared worse with five players absent due to state duties, and the loss of skipper Darren Lockyer and Steve Michaels to knee complaints added insult to injury.