They left it late, but somehow the Sharks managed to come from eight points down with less than 10 minutes on the clock to register a 24-22 win to remain firmly entrenched in the top four.
It was a heart-breaker for the Tigers but a valuable two points for the Sharks, especially during the Origin period where they will provide five players next Wednesday night.
So what were the big moments, the game changers, the five key points to come from the Sharks win? Below is what we think.
1. Rugby League is an 80-minute game
The week before they had victory snatched from them in the final three minutes of match, this time around it was the Sharks coming from behind to steal a win from the Tigers.
The Storm made the Sharks pay late and when Daniel Mortimer grubbered for Jayson Bukuya to touch down for the match-winner, the table turned in the space of a little over a week.
Just a few hours earlier down in Melbourne the Storm squandered an eight-point lead in the final three minutes against he Cowboys, only to snatch a win with a golden point field goal.
Two games to once again prove you need to play out the 80 minutes if you hope to be successful in the NRL.
2. Find a place for Capewell
Two tries, an assist for the Edrick Lee four pointer and a game in which he ran for 251 metres, leaves everyone asking just where does Kurt Capewell fit in the Sharks scheme of things.
Shane Flanagan’s admitted at the post-match press conference he needed to be in the 17 somewhere, exactly where that will be going forward remains to be seen.
His man-of-the-match performance against the Tigers was in the centres, he has handled the wing comfortably but is essentially an edge back rower.
After the performance Capewell handed in on Saturday night he’ll be there somewhere when the whips are cracking at the end of the 2017 season.
3. Plenty of line breaks, not enough points
At every post-match press conference, especially on the nights when the Sharks come out on the wrong end of the score line, Flanagan talks about the opportunities created and his teams’ failure to convert.
While he didn’t harp on that subject on Saturday night, once he looked at the game stats, which showed 12 clean line breaks, he must have been wondering how it took 78 minutes to get in front of the Tigers.
The Sharks broke their opponents open repeatedly, only for the final pass, the last option, to let them down.
Against the leading teams, in the big end of season games, the Sharks know they need to captitalise on the opportunities created.
4. Rebuild that black, white and blue wall
One area Flanagan was critical of on Saturday was his teams’ goal line defense, something the Sharks have prided themselves on in recent seasons.
Two dummy half tries and two a poor defensive reads, one in the middle of the field, the other out wide, gifted the Tigers their points.
Yes, they were missing five Origin reps which didn’t help, but Flanagan also admitted it was something of a recurring theme in recent matches and an area he would certainly address before the next game against Manly.
But in looking for a positive, the black, white and blue wall isn’t exactly falling down, with the Sharks still the leading defensive team in the NRL, having conceded 18 less points than the Melbourne Storm who are next best.
5. And the records tumble
No it wasn’t the NRL side creating a new record for their eighth come-from-behind win of the 2017 season, it was their Holden Cup counterparts who smashed all sorts of NYC records in their amazing win last night.
The 84 points was an NYC record for points scored in one game and the 78-points between the teams the equaled the greatest margin of victory.
Add to that Kyle Flanagan scored 32 on his own, certainly more than any Sharks NRL player has registered in one game in the history of the club and a mark which has us searching the record books to confirm whether or not it is a club record for all grades.
Now with 208 points on the season, which is 80 ahead of his nearest competitor, the young Flanagan is on track to eclipse the previous Holden Cup individual tally.
The Sharks 20’s continue to roll, with the 84-6 win sounding a warning to the other Holden Cup contenders.
