Cronulla so nearly pulled off a miraculous upset with two late tries but Newcastle clung to dear life in the final five minutes to escape with a 24-20 victory on Sunday.
The Knights were tested by moments of brilliance from the Sharks, and Cronulla full-back Nathan Gardner came close to pulling off an incredible comeback for his side.
Gardner was in everything, scoring a double, laying on a try for John Williams, before being involved in a controversial incident which could have changed the match with just three minutes left.
Gardner chipped over the top and was knocked off his feet when he ran into Knights second rower Steve Southern - with the referees ruling the interference was not illegal.
The Sharks threw everything at the Knights at the death.
Gardner crossed for his second in the 75th minute to bring them within a converted try, but in the end, a lack of polish in the first half came back to bite them.
Cronulla and Newcastle made strong starts to the season, but recent losses made this a crucial match for two sides who have shown top-eight potential.
And the desperation showed.
Nathan Tinkler's men were far from accomplished, but the solid kicking game of Jarrod Mullen and a well deserved try to hard-running second rower Junior Sa'u in the 49th minute was enough to see Newcastle hold on.
Cronulla started the match strongly, but Newcastle managed to wrestle control back after a momentum-changing run by five-eighth Jarrod Mullen in the 32nd minute.
The Sharks were up 10-6 and looked set to add to their lead before poor options on three consecutive tackles saw them squander a chance to score when they had the Knights stretched defending their own line.
Sharks half-back Wade Graham tried to stab through a kick on the last play, but Mullen scooped it up and dashed 80m downfield, fending off Cronulla speedster Nathan Gardner in the process.
A couple of plays later winger James McManus crossed in the corner for Newcastle, and the Knights scored again through Shannon McDonnell to take an 18-10 lead into the sheds.
The second turning point in the match came with just over 20 minutes left in the second half, when the Knights were on the attack and allowed a drop-out to go into touch.
All of a sudden they were the team under pressure, and winger Williams scored to get the Sharks back in the contest.
Newcastle: 24 (S McDonnell, J McManus, W Naiqama, J Sau tries; K Gidley 4/4 conversions)
Cronulla: 20 (N Gardner 2, B Pomeroy, J Williams tries; Williams 2/4 conversions)
- AAP
First posted April 17, 2011 15:52:00
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