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Sharks left speechless after pulling off NRLW first

Cronulla coach Tony Herman had no idea his team had just become the first in the NRLW's seven-year history to keep three-time champions Brisbane scoreless.

He was much too busy sealing his club's first-ever grand final berth in its second year in the competition to be looking up stats.

So when he was informed about the record, it amplified his delight even more.

"Wow! I don't know what to say about that," he answered.

"I don't think I could be more proud of the girls anyway, to be honest. They were incredible today."

The more you consider the stats behind the Sharks' 14-0 win over the Broncos on Sunday, the more unlikely it seems.

Brisbane were coming off a seven-game winning streak, while Cronulla had lost their last three. The Broncos had never lost a match at Langlands Park, where the game was played. Cronulla had been beaten by the Broncos in both of their previous encounters.

But while Brisbane were the competition's highest scorers in the home-and-away season, the Sharks were second only to the Sydney Roosters as the NRLW's most miserly defensive outfit.

It was that steadfast defence that won them the day, with a backs-to-the-wall effort repelling repeated incursions from the Broncos' attacking weapons.

"They had three or four sets on their line in the first half, and in the back end the way they just kept turning up for one another," Herman said.

"And you could tell they were starting to tire at different times but somehow or other Ti (Penitani) and all the girls, they found a way to get there and made tackles. Yeah, it's an amazing stat, but we've another week to go. But we'll enjoy it for now."

Their defence will need to be at the top of their game again in next Sunday's grand final, when they take on a star-studded Sydney Roosters side fresh off a convincing victory over two-time reigning premiers Newcastle.

"I'm bit lost for words," Penitani said.

The Sharks skipper was understandably still catching her breath after a powerhouse performance.

She scored the game's pivotal opening try and ran for 160 metres with the ball, many of those to get her side out of trouble deep in their own half.

"I'm just so proud of the way the girls turned up for each other," she said.

"You know, that's semi-final football. The whole season goes out the window when you get to this week, and the girls were up for the challenge and they stuck at it for the full 70."

In the lead-up to the match, the Sharks used their preparation to simplify their game and go back to the way they were playing earlier in the season, when they won all six of their first fixtures off the back of their defensive solidity, Penitani said.

"I feel as though the losses came at a really good time for us," she said.

"We kind of plateaued and fell off the wheel a little bit and we really wanted to learn a lot from those three weeks.

"Everyone wrote us off from the last three losses, and we knew that that wasn't our style of football. We were kind of our own worst enemy in those games."