The Sharks have surged into the top eight with a commanding 34-14 win over the Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium on Easter Sunday.
Cronulla swept to a 16-0 lead midway through the first half on a glorious afternoon and were never seriously troubled by a Newcastle side that lost hooker Phoenix Crossland to a lower leg injury in the 32nd minute.
With Knights winger James Schiller sin-binned early in the second term for a high shot on Sharks centre Mawene Hiroti, the visitors quickly piled on two tries to put the game to bed a long way from the final whistle.
Sharks flyer Sam Stonestreet recorded yet another double – his sixth in 13 career NRL matches – while props Oregon Kaufusi and Addin Fonua-Blake tag-teamed for the opening two tries. Fullback Will Kennedy and Hiroti rounded out Cronulla's scorers, while halfback Nicho Hynes pulled the strings with aplomb.
Cronulla drew first blood in the 11th minute to silence the parochial crowd, Kaufusi crashing over for his first try of the year after classy lead-up work by Hynes.
Newcastle looked to have responded almost immediately, however a runaway try to Fletcher Sharpe was overturned by the Bunker due to an obstruction.
The penalty was doubly painful for the Knights as the Sharks marched downfield and scored again via Fonua-Blake, who steamrolled across the line from a Blayke Brailey pass after brilliant offloads by Kaufusi and Cam McInnes.
It wasn't long before the Sharks crossed again, this time Stonestreet diving into the right corner to continue his prolific try-scoring form.
Cronulla second-rower Teig Wilton was placed on report for a high shot on Knights playmaker Tyson Gamble in the 29th minute. Moments later, the hosts had their first try of the match as Greg Marzhew proved too strong on the left flank.
The second half started on a dramatic note when Newcastle's Schiller was sin-binned for a high tackle on Hiroti while saving a try.
Aided by the extra number, it seemed only a matter of time before the Sharks struck – but perhaps not in the fashion expected. Centre Jesse Ramien intercepted a loopy pass from Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga in the 46th minute and quickly found Stonestreet, who dashed clear to secure his 14th NRL try.
Now firmly on top at 22-4, Cronulla inflicted more pain on the undermanned Newcastle side in the 49th minute when Brailey bounced out from dummy half and placed a clever grubber for custodian Kennedy to touch down.
Toby Rudolf almost barged over for his first try of the season moments later, only for the video referee to spot a fumble and take it off the hard-working prop.
To their credit, the Knights rallied and pulled back a try through Sharpe. Hiroti went over for the Sharks in the 73rd minute before Schiller grabbed a consolation four-pointer for Newcastle to finalise the margin at 20 points.
Now sitting in sixth position, Cronulla will shoot for three consecutive wins against Wests Tigers next Sunday in an Anzac Round clash at Leichhardt Oval.
