The Sharks escaped with a heart-stopping 34-28 win over the Knights in Sunday's Jersey Flegg Cup clash at McDonald Jones Stadium after scoring two tries in the final three minutes.
Despite both teams posting six tries, Cronulla's superior goal kicking was enough to seal two valuable competition points in an exciting yet scrappy affair.
The result elevates the Sharks into the top four - at least momentarily – and marked a third-straight victory for the Andrew Dallalana-coached team.
Match: Knights v Sharks
Round 7 -
home Team
Knights
14th Position
away Team
Sharks
5th Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
After leading 22-14 at the break, it appeared for much of the second half that Cronulla were about to be rolled by last-placed Newcastle, who held a commanding 28-22 advantage with less than 15 minutes to play.
But the Sharks rediscovered their attacking mojo when it counted, throwing the ball around to snatch victory with tries to Felix Faatili and Luke Raymond.
The Knights pinged the lids with two unconverted tries in the first eight minutes via fullback Toby Winter and winger Mason Forbes, but Cronulla quickly hit back.
Hooker Jai Camilleri brilliantly stepped over the line in the 13th minute before prop Faatili proved too powerful from close range as Cronulla assumed control. Five-eighth Taj Ford landed both goals to put the visitors ahead.
The Sharks continued their scoring flurry in the 22nd minute, with fleet-footed No.1 Adrian Sandy benefitting from some clever offloading through the middle as he swerved and sprinted into the clear to give the visitors a 16-8 lead.
Newcastle responded when back-rower Jacob Taulani split the defence and touched down next to the posts, setting up an easy conversion for Ryder Williams.
In the shadows of half-time, the Sharks marched downfield courtesy of a penalty and made sure to take full advantage. Camilleri bagged his second double in three starts for the Sharks, the ex-Eel again ducking and weaving to clinch a crucial try.
Newcastle started the second half with a point to prove while Cronulla repeatedly shot themselves in the foot. After a couple of close calls, the Sharks conceded a simple try as Te Kaio Cranwell swooped on a lost ball and dashed away. Though it was four tries apiece at that stage, goal kicking afforded the Sharks a 22-18 lead.
Cronulla almost pulled further ahead when lock Sam McCulloch burst into the backfield, but after he was dragged down they couldn't find the killer blow to score.
The Knights reclaimed the ascendancy in the 60th minute when centre Harley Walker steamed onto an offload and sold a dummy to Sandy to score under the posts, with Cullen Gray's conversion handing Newcastle a 24-22 lead.
The home side was well on top at this point, further extending their buffer as Cade Mellon latched onto a pin-point cross-field kick. However, another missed conversion kept Cronulla in the contest heading into the final stretch.
The fighting qualities of the men in black, white and blue shone through as the clock wound down. They surged into striking distance, where Faatili bulldozed his way to a double and Ford converted to square the ledger.
Not content with settling for a draw, the Sharks backed themselves and came up trumps down the right edge. Finding himself in open space, Raymond seized the moment and ran over the last line of Newcastle's defence to steal victory.
The Sharks face Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval next Saturday as they look to entrench themselves towards the top of the ladder.
