The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks could not get the job done in a heartbreak loss to the Newcastle Knights on Friday night, April 16.
Playing away in the club's first match under interim head coach Josh Hannay, a late Kaylan Pnga try had Newcastle escape with the victory.
Despite some earlier pressure from the Sharks and a great opportunity spoiled by the home side, Ponga opened the scoring for Newcastle on the back of some quick passing.
It didn't take too much longer for Ponga to attack the Sharks defensive line once again, delivering a superb offload to Mitchell Burnett, who managed to push off the defenders and ground the ball.
With the Sharks trailing 0-8, it was a collision between Toby Rudolph and Ponga on a Sharks kick that laid the basis for Jesse Ramien to snatch up the visitors first try.
But, Newcastle was on the hunt for another try before the half time siren. After a fumble on the try line, it was a mixture of skill and luck that saw them cross for the third time in the match.
The Knights spread the ball wide at the halfway line, Enari Tuala some space to run. A kickback in the field sat up for Kurt Mann, who plucked the ball from the air and placed it down to extend the Knights lead.
The second half saw both sides fighting for the victory.
Despite some great defence from the Knights, the Sharks were able to cross for their second as Briton Nikoro charged his way through the line and over for a try.
The Knights hit back again through an unbelievable offload from their star fullback Ponga.
However, the Sharks refused to go away and back-to-back tries to set up a thrilling finish.
First, Connor Tracey scored down the left-wing, followed by Mawene Hiroti on the right, giving the Sharks a 22-20 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Unfortunately for the Sharks, the Knights stole the victory in the final minutes. Some scramble play on the last tackle saw the ball flung out of a tackle and into the hands of Ponga, who dashed for the line past the Sharks broken line and over, winning 26-22.
The Sharks now look to this week's crucial home match against the bottom of the table Bulldogs.
They will be without prop Aiden Tolman who took the early guilty plea on a crusher tackle charge, missing the match against his old club.
The loss of Tolman will be challenging for the Sharks, who are already dealing with injuries and a midseason coaching change.
The Sharks are currently missing; Wade Graham (concussion), Josh Dugan (concussion), Royce Hunt (knee), Shaun Johnson (Achilles), Andrew Fifita (suspension), Ronaldo Mulitalo (knee), Sione Katoa (knee) and Jackson Ferris (foot).
The undermanned squad will face the Bulldogs on Saturday, April 24 at 5:30pm at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.