Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has admitted concern over his side's Round 20 performance, with the side suffering a massive defeat at the hands of an in-form Warriors outfit.
Cronulla gained an early lead at Go Media Stadium, but were unable to match it with the hosts from there as the likes of Shaun Johnson and Wayde Egan proved their class in attack in the 44-12 result.
The defensive efforts from the visitors were on full display in Auckland, especially on the edges, with Matt Moylan (seven missed tackles), Siosifa Talakai (four) and Wade Graham (four) coming up with some poor attempts close to the line.
The side's struggles against top-eight outfits have been well-documented throughout the year, with the Sharks yet to defeat one team ahead of them on the NRL ladder heading into the business-end of their campaign.
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Craig Fitzgibbon press conference: Sharks coach criticises defence
Speaking to the media after the loss, Fitzgibbon took aim at Cronulla and believes the three quick tries scored by the Warriors after the break "taught his side a lesson" on Sunday afternoon.
“Our edge defence wasn’t good enough," he said.
“I felt like majority of the game we were defending our try line, because we gave them an opportunity to do that. More pressure, better defence and obviously you end up earning the rights to score points... they showed us the way.
“I thought coming out of half-time we got a bit of a lesson there. Those three quick tries were really painful and it’s frustrating, as we’ve been working hard at that stuff.
"We got back into it, I thought we rolled the sleeves up a little bit – but the energy was still going their way.
"If something might have went our way early there [it could have been different], but you’ve got to earn the right for something to go your way there… I didn’t think they were earning it."
With a tough stretch coming up, including fixtures against Penrith and South Sydney in back-to-back weeks, Cronulla's spot in the finals picture is far from sealed, with plenty of rivals chasing their tails.
Fitzgibbon also questioned his side's energy early in the afternoon, conceding the impact of Johnson's 200th game for the Warriors played a role.
"Even though we started alright, we got jumped on energy – they were a bit more up for it, obviously a huge occasion for them," he said.
"I sort of felt it early… we got jumped there and they out-competed us and contested us, and our defence wasn’t good enough today."
Cronulla Sharks run home
In the remaining seven rounds, Cronulla will take on plenty of title contenders and could be a genuine chance of missing the finals based on Sunday's display.
In Round 21, Fitzgibbon's team will look to bounce back against Manly, before a month-long stretch on the road will see them face the Panthers, Rabbitohs and Cowboys.
In the final round of the season, the fifth-placed Sharks will face another team competing for a September berth in the Canberra Raiders.
