Sharks 10
Warriors 37
Sometimes the draw can be kind. After consecutive defeats, the Warriors took on the Sharks at just the right time.
Cronulla are 15th on the table but should really be last (Melbourne will pick up the wooden spoon for treating the salary cap like a plaything) and went into this
match on the back of a five-game losing streak.
That run now stands at six.
In truth, the Sharks have been decent in the past couple of weeks. A change of coach can do that with Shane Flanagan taking over from Ricky Stuart, who fell on his sword after a wretched couple of seasons.
This was an important win for the Warriors. Lose, and a playoffs spot that looked assured three weeks ago after an impressive five-game winning streak was slipping away.
Their season was on the line, especially with games against the Knights (H), Sea Eagles (A), Broncos (H) and Eels (A) to come, but they retained their position in the top eight.
This win will return the confidence to the Warriors and none more so than Bill Tupou.
The young winger hadn't scored all season and it was starting to weigh him down.
Last night he not only grabbed his first career try but also his second and third. They all came in the second half, as the Warriors exerted their dominance, and he finished off a couple of good backline moves and also pounced on a pondering Sharks attack. By the end of the match he was dancing around like he has been playing the game for years.
The game also signalled an improving relationship between halves James Maloney and Brett Seymour.
The pair had struggled to gel since Seymour's return from injury four weeks ago as they both get used to each other again.
Maloney had shouldered so much responsibility throughout the season, it must have felt strange to have a dominant half calling for the ball.
Maloney was excellent, scoring one try, creating another and kicking six goals - he also slotted a field goal presumably in preparation for what might lie ahead. Maloney has been one of the finds of the season and, presumably, a cheap one for the Warriors given he had played only four NRL matches previously.
The return of prop Sam Rapira, who has been missing since dislocating knee cap in against Souths in May, was a welcome sight.
Rapira is one of the game's best front-rowers and, while he was decent without being devastating when pitched into action from the bench, he will be crucial if the Warriors are to extend their season.
They need their best players on the park and Rapira has proved over the past three seasons he's in that category.
The Warriors grabbed six tries last night but what was just as significant was the fact they conceded only two.
Defence is what won them five games on the trot recently and they hunted in packs and defended their line like any breach was a personal imposition.
Lance Hohaia set the tone when he brilliantly hauled down Nathan Gardner in the 12th minute when it looked like he had been beaten. Manu Vatuvei and Lewis Brown then combined for another telling tackle a minute later when the Warriors' line was in danger of being breached.
They conceded one in the 24th minute when Trent Barrett finished off a Gardner break and let in a sloppy one to Paul Aiton when the game had already been won nine minutes from time.
Both were individual errors rather than any breach of a defensive system.
The margin of victory was good for the Warriors' points differential. They hope it won't come down to that but everything counts.
Sharks 10 (T. Barrett, P. Aiton tries, L. Covell gl) Warriors 37 (B. Tate, J. Maloney, J. Moon, B. Tupou 3 tries, Maloney 6 gls, fg). HT: 6-14.
