A thrilling wins sees the Sharks hang on for victory.
The Cronulla Sharks’ NRL season hopes are still alive after securing a 24-20 victory over the Penrith Panthers in round eight action.
Another loss for the Sharks would have made it very hard for them to make the top eight and a chance at winning the title, but the two points sees them secure just their second win of the season, but still remains rooted to the bottom of the ladder.
Penrith continue their up and down season, with their fourth loss coming in eight games, with the Panthers unable to string together consecutive solid performances.
Penrith looked to have scored the first try of the game after Josh Mansour took to the air before scoring from the knock-on.
And after closer analysis from the video referee, the away side earned the first points of the afternoon with the margin jumping out to six points after nine minutes.
Penrith continued to look sharp in attack early in the game, as they attacked the right edge of the Sharks’ defence in the hope of penetrating the line again.
The first penalty of the afternoon went to the Sharks, and the home side went on to the attack off the back of the easy metres for their first real chance of the game.
And it did not take long for Cronulla to get across the line as he sliced through the line and rolled over and got the ball down despite the refs checking for a double-movement.
Cronulla’s five-eighth got up limping slightly, but the pain was eased by the four points to his team as the score became 6-4 after Michael Gordon hit the left-hand upright.
However, Carney came straight to the sideline after scoring the try and went straight into the changerooms with another hamstring injury.
A Matt Moylan line-break saw the Panthers earn their first penalty for the game as Penrith looks to swing the momentum of the game back their way.
And David Simmons continued his reputation as a quality finisher scoring in the right corner, after given space by an excellent tip-pass from Moylan.
Jamie Soward added the extras and the score became 12-4 after 22 minutes.
Cronulla jumped right back into contention when Jeff Robson cleaned up a spilled ball from James Segeyao, before finding Ricky Leutele with a short pass for the try thanks in large part to several errors from the Panthers with the ball in hand.
Starting the second half with a lead of just two, and Gordon drew the sides level in the 55th minute thanks to a penalty goal.
Mansour scored his second try for the afternoon, but the Panthers’ winger looked to have dislocated his shoulder as he scored the try.
However, the referees were called in to look closer at a play the ball earlier in the set, and a knock-on was found, cancelling out what would have been a vital four points to the Panthers.
Penrith retook the lead with a shot from the field as they edged ahead 14-12 with 16 minutes left in the game.
Gordon then scored a sensational individual try for the Sharks as he timed his jump from a bomb to perfection, stealing the ball from Moylan and scoring under the posts in one motion as the home side jumped out to a four-point lead.
The momentum of the game continued to swing, as Dean Whare set up Peter Wallace as the away side grabbed the lead again at 20-18 with eight minutes remaining.
Robson then capped a sensational team movement as the Sharks put their noses in front 24-20 in what was a roller-coaster of a second half despite the try having a hint of a double-movement.
Off the restart and a Sharks knock-on, Whare cross the line for what would have been a match-winning try, the video referee saw Adam Docker impede a would-be defender with a knock-on also found in the grounding of the ball.
As a result the red light was shown and the Sharks scrapped home with the thrilling victory.
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