High Tackle Ignites Mini All-In Brawl Between St George Illawarra Dragons And Cronulla Sharks

The age-old rivalry between the St George Illawarra Dragons and Cronulla Sharks is one of the fiercest in the NRL.

And if you thought the two teams were planning on easing their way into the new season, then you'd be sorely mistaken.

The two sides met in Round 1 of the 2021 campaign and with just 18 minutes gone in a rather tense first half, all hell broke loose.

Instagram/@cronullasharks

Tensions boiled over when Sharks centre Jesse Ramien caught Matt Dufty with a dangerously-high tackle.

The Dragons fullback was returning the ball from the kick off but was sent clattering to the Jubilee turf after copping a late blow to the back of the head.

While Dufty himself eventually rose to his feet, albeit rather slowly, it seemed his teammates took exception to the tackle.

St George forward Blake Lawrie ran in to confront Ramien and tempers flared as the Sharks players jumped to the defence of their comrade too.

The match referees did their best to defuse the situation as Sharks duo Braden Hamlin-Uele and Sione Katoa went nose-to-nose with Lawrie before Ronaldo Mulitalo ran from the other side of the pitch to get involved.

"There's no question Ramien clocks Dufty flush in the back of the head," Fox League commentator Warren Smith said.

"I don't know what Ronaldo Mulitalo was doing running in from the left wing right on the death as if he was flying in on the top rope.

"John Morris must be watching, thinking what was all that about."

The biff was eventually broken up with Sharks centre Jesse Ramien sent to the sin bin for his role in the melee.

"It incites a riot, it was a little bit high. He hit him in the head," Steve 'Blocker' Roach said.

"A couple of the Saints blokes didn't like it, but he did get hit in the head that's why they've all retaliated.

"It was very aggressive the way he comes in with the swinging arm.

"I think Dufty was dropping down but you still can't hit someone in the head."

Upon review, it seems no punches were thrown although there was plenty of jersey-tugging going on.

It's understood the NRL judiciary will take a look at the ugly incident, although you can probably assume no action will be taken against any of the players.

At the end of the day, it's the first game of the season between two teams that notoriously don't exactly get along - it was only a matter of time before some of the players exchanged words (or jersey tugs for this matter).

Topics: Cronulla Sharks, Sin bin, nrl, Australia

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry