Once again, Cronulla missed their chance, going down by two points to the Knights.
They have gone from sure things to outsiders in a fortnight, and they simply must win their next two games and probably beat the Storm in round 25 to play finals.
They played in their round 22 clash in the white 'Sharks Have Heart' jerseys, which was ironic because fans were left heartbroken.
All match-worn, signed jerseys, are up for charity auction and disappointingly, you might get a bargain.
Cronulla is now fading fast, sitting in a log jam on the ladder with four teams on 18 points, losing four of their past five and their heart.
They will be ruing squandering a 12-8 half-time lead.
Every time the Knights made a mistake, the Sharks replied with one. But, in the end, another Sharks penalty - and they gave up nine and one bad six-again - proved the difference, Newcastle kicking the decisive penalty when Ponga was tackled without the ball.
Coach Josh Hannay was shattered, with every 50-50 call going against them.
It's an old excuse to blame the referee's, but even Newcastle fans were surprised with the critical penalty when Bradman Best was driven back into his in-goal in the final 10 minutes.
Hannay said It would've been nice to get a good call.
"I don't think we could have tried much harder.
"I'm devastated. I've got a devastated group in there. Some things were going on out there that made life really hard for us."
"Every game, you see people driven back into the in-goal every week."
After the game it also got more serious as Sharks prop Andrew Fifita suffered a significant laryngeal injury and was hospitalised.
Like every NRL club, the Sharks are looking for short term loan players to fill gaps, being linked to Warriors playmaker Sean O'Sullivan and Bulldog Kyle Flanagan-but, the debut of halfback Luke Metcalf and Moylan's potential return, have officials pessimistic.
The Sharks now play the Wests Tigers in Rockhampton Saturday, followed by matches with Brisbane and the Melbourne Storm on the Gold Coast to decide their fate. But it's probably not too soon to be thinking about next year.
John Veage
Thirty five year photographer for Fairfax -former NSW Chief Photographer for FCN and now Photo Journalist for the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader in southern Sydney.Official photographer for Cycling Australia (20 years) Official photographer for Surf Life Saving Australia (30 years) Founding Life Member of Cronulla Boardriders Club and Life Member of Surfing Sutherland Shire among other things.
Thirty five year photographer for Fairfax -former NSW Chief Photographer for FCN and now Photo Journalist for the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader in southern Sydney.Official photographer for Cycling Australia (20 years) Official photographer for Surf Life Saving Australia (30 years) Founding Life Member of Cronulla Boardriders Club and Life Member of Surfing Sutherland Shire among other things.
