Knights winger Edrick Lee went from zero to hero in a matter of minutes.
The speedster threw away Newcastle's six-point lead in the 73rd minute after it was deemed he committed a professional foul on Sione Katoa as the Sharks winger was denied an attempt to ground a Shaun Johnson grubber.
But there was an uproar when the video referee decided to exercise a penalty try, rather than sin-bin Lee.
On replays, it appeared the ball was rolling away from Katoa, giving Josh Dugan the best grounding attempt to which he slipped up with a slight knock-on.
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However, the decision ultimately worked in Newcastle's favour.
A set later Cronulla were attacking their line again and Lee, who made a number of brilliant defensive reads that night, snatched a Chad Townsend pass and ran the full length for a cracking intercept try.
Edrick Lee with the cold-blooded intercept try against his old side. #NRLKnightsSharks 14-8 with 4 minutes to go. #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/wAQTxCUzdu
— NRL (@NRL) March 15, 2019
That effort helped Newcastle secure a 14-8 for their first competition points of the season in a hard-fought defensive grind.
Lee, alongside David Klemmer Mitchell Pearce, was one of Newcastle's best, causing headaches for Dugan who made four knock-ons in the first half alone.
For Cronulla, Matt Moylan was the centre piece of their attack and nearly set up a number of tries as they bombed chance after chance.
