The Sharks showed pure passion and spirit in a 12-8 win over the Titans in an Indigenous Round clash on Saturday afternoon.
Adding to their large amount of adversity faced this season, Cronulla lost centre Annessa Biddle to an elbow injury and Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu to the sin-bin.
Prop Caitlan Johnston-Green made her much-anticipated Sharks debut 11 weeks after becoming a mum, producing a solid 19-minute stint off the bench.
It was a tough battle to begin the match with both teams defending stoutly. The Titans were in control of possession for the majority of the first half, forcing repeat sets and dropouts, but couldn't crack the black, white and blue wall.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, Biddle exited the field with an elbow injury in the 14th minute, forcing Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu to centre. The setback came with hooker Quincy Dodd ruled out indefinitely during the week with an ankle issue.
Although Cronulla came close to scoring a few times, they struggled to execute.
It was a special moment for Johnston-Green, a proud Indigenous woman, as she ran out for her Sharks debut to loud cheers in the 24th minute.
The arm-wrestle continued into half-time with neither side able to break the deadlock, though the signs were promising for Cronulla's goal-line defence.
Opening the second half, the Sharks were firmly on the backfoot with Anne-Marie Kiria-Ratu sent to the sin-bin for a hip drop.
Gold Coast capitalised with halfback Lauren Brown finding space and crossing in the 40th minute. Converting her own try, Brown made it 6-0 for the visitors.
But the Sharks wouldn't go away. Former Titan Chantay Kiria-Ratu played a key role in Cronulla's opening try, forcing an error with a trademark booming kick. In the ensuing set, fullback Emma Verran powered across to narrow the gap to two.
With a full complement of 13 back on the field, the Sharks found a new gear. After forcing another mistake, a well-worked scrum move resulted in winger Cassie Staples striding over in the left corner to snatch the lead.
Chantay Kiria-Ratu couldn't slot the goal, the score sitting at 8-6, before Titans playmaker Brown levelled it up once more with a penalty shot in the 58th minute.
Kiria-Ratu stepped up when it counted, the playmaker nudging her team ahead with a calm penalty goal of her own in the 63rd minute. The No.7 added another a minute from full-time to put the cherry on top of a resilient win against her old club.
Having now won two straight games for the first time this season, the Sharks will face the Warriors in New Zealand next Sunday with the finals in sight.
