The Sharks banked an important two points with a scrappy 14-12 victory over the Rabbitohs in Gosford on Saturday night, elevating them to seventh place on a congested ladder.
While not at their lethal best, Cronulla had enough up their sleeve to outlast the Rabbitohs, who defended their guts out from start to finish at polytech Stadium.
Despite heading into half-time trailing 6-2, the Sharks controlled field position and momentum for much of the match as they enjoyed 58% of possession en route to a third consecutive victory – their first time achieving the feat since Round 11.
Ronaldo Mulitalo and Blayke Brailey crossed for the Sharks, with the perfect goal-kicking of Nicho Hynes also crucial in a dour affair on the Central Coast.
The teams traded penalty goals in a rather uneventful opening passage. After the Sharks edged ahead via Hynes in the eighth minute, the Rabbitohs returned serve through Isaiah Tass to lock the scores at 2-2 after a quarter of action.
In between, Cronulla were denied the first try after Hynes' short ball to second-rower Billy Burns – arguably the Sharks' best on ground – was ruled forward.
Hynes was then refused a four-pointer of his own by a blade of grass, the halfback somehow held up by the desperate South Sydney defence after slicing through.
Try as they might, the Sharks couldn't quite break the Rabbitohs' resolve in the first half. Adding to their frustration, South Sydney snared the lead on the stroke of the hooter with a try to winger Tyrone Munro on the right edge.
The Sharks responded almost immediately when play restarted, with quick hands from fullback Will Kennedy sending Mulitalo over in the left corner. Hynes nailed the conversion from the touchline, giving Cronulla an 8-6 advantage.
The Rabbitohs found themselves down to 12 men when five-eighth Jack Wighton was sin-binned for a 45th-minute high shot on prop Toby Rudolf, who appeared wobbly as he left the field under assistance from a trainer. With Rudolf unable to return after the head knock, the Sharks activated 18th man Hohepa Puru.
The extra man ultimately counted for little for Cronulla, who continued to threaten but struggled to crack South Sydney's resilient goal-line wall.
It wasn't until the 60th minute that Cronulla secured a much-needed second try. A Mulitalo tap-back from a bomb landed in the hands of Kennedy, who cleverly offloaded to Brailey. The hooker fought his way to ground, setting up an easy kick for Hynes and providing breathing room for the visitors at 14-6.
It proved to be a winning break. South Sydney charged late, with front-rower Junior Tatola crashing over at the death, but the Sharks clung on to secure a hat-trick of victories ahead of a home clash with the Cowboys next Sunday.
