A 79th minute Teig Wilton try, then a Nicho Hynes conversion after the fulltime siren, has seen the Sharks snatch a thrilling 18-16 win over the Eels.
The Sharks had led for most of the contest, only to fall behind inside the final 10 minutes, until Wilton ran onto a short ball from Moylan to touchdown, the try followed by the Hynes match-winning kick, as the Cronulla side sealed a first victory of the 2022 season.
The victory came in front of a capacity PointsBet Stadium crowd of 11,500 in what was the first game back at the Sharks traditional home since 2019.
The first points came in the 14th minute, Connor Tracey putting Ronaldo Mulitalo away down the eastern touchline, with the Sharks winger beating the tackle of Eels fullback Clint Gutherson to score in the corner.
Nicho Hynes was wide with his kick into the strong southerly breeze as the Sharks took the early 4-0 lead.
With defence dominating, neither side was able to add to the score, with the Eels coming closest in the 25th minute, only for Mulitalo to push his opposite into touch as he attempted a spectacular put down.
Then after denying the Parramatta side at one end the Sharks would make them pay at the other, a well-worked move down their right hand side saw Hynes pass to Ramien, who put Sione Katoa, in his 50th NRL game, over untouched in the corner.
While the kick was again off target, at 8-0 up the Sharks had a nice advantage 10 minutes out from the break.
And it was a lead it appeared they would take into half time, having held the Eels out after defending four consecutive sets of six on their line, however a Mitch Moses try, after a clever chip and chase, followed by a Gutherson sideline conversion, made it 8-6 in setting up an exciting second half.
Again the second period began in a similar fashion to the way the first ended, with Parramatta attacking the Sharks line for back to back sets with the Cronulla team refusing to buckle.
The Eels however were able to level the scores courtesy of a penalty goal, then would take the lead after a second penalty for a late tackle on Moses and after 15 minutes of the second half the Parramatta side had their first lead of the night at 10-8 in front.
The lead however would be brief, a pressure relieving penalty to the Sharks saw them kick into an attacking position, then it was a clever Hynes overhead pass which saw Tracey touch down in the north-western corner.
The kick from a wide angle was unsuccessful but with 20 minutes left on the clock the Sharks had the lead once again at 12-10.
In what was a see-sawing affair the Eels would bounce straight back, a Shaun Lane line break resulting in a Reed Mahoney try and after the simple conversion the Parramatta had gone back in front at 16-12.
Down but not out, the Sharks refused to concede, working their way back down field with time running out, before the match-winner from Wilton and the Hynes heroics.
It was a resilient effort from a Sharks side which just 46 percent of possession and were forced to turn the Eels away from their try line on numerous occasions.
In a Sharks team with plenty of strong performers, none were better than Connor Tracey who made a successful return from injury, the outside back getting his team on the front foot with a number of strong charges as he topped the run metres with 179 from 18 carries.
Blayke Brailey backed up his solid first round outing with another outstanding game, the young hooker working himself to a standstill in leading the count with 54 tackles, while also proving dangerous in attack.
Will Kennedy at the back was busy, Siosifa Talakai was a handful both in tight and when moved wider after Mulitalo failed to return for the second half following a head knock, with the rest of the forwards matching their highly rated opponents in what was a tough battle in the middle of the field.
Also pleasingly, Cam McInnes came through his return with a strong 25 minutes in his first game since 2020.
The Sharks now have a short turnaround to their round three match against local rivals St George Illawarra, with that game scheduled for Thursday night in Wollongong.
SHARKS 18
Teig Wilton, Sione Katoa, Connor Tracey, Ronaldo Mulitalo tries, Nicho Hynes goal
beat
EELS 16
Reed Mahoney, Mitchell Moses tries, Clint Gutherson 4 goals
