The Raiders put some heat on Cronulla in the finals race as they moved level with the eighth-placed Sharks after their 34-18 win.
A marginally high shot from Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall on Jordan Rapana, who didn't react at all to the contact after his put-down, led to a controversial eight-point try .
But it was consistent pressure in the game that really took its toll on the Sharks and Canberra have now beaten them in their past six meetings.
With seven rounds remaining, the Sharks are just hanging on in the lead-up to the finals.
Clinging to the edge of the eight, the Sharks missed a huge opportunity to put a gap in the bottom half of the draw when they went down to the Raiders in round 18.
They still have a very favourable run home, with just two of their final seven matches against current top-eight teams and three games against sides sitting in the bottom three.
Cronulla now have to beat the Bulldogs.