The Sharks and Warriors have delivered a thrilling 32-30 clash with Andrew Webster’s side snatching victory with a late penalty kick.

With 10 minutes left on the clock the scores sat level at 30-30 and the game hung in the balance ready for the taking.

During one of the last sets of the game, the ball was thrown over the head of Siosifa Talakai before Josh Curran toed it forward and Royce Hunt was deemed to have pulled him back.

Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson was then handed a golden opportunity to steal victory with 30 seconds on the clock, slotting the penalty goal to secure two competition points.

“Welcome back to the big time Shaun Johnson… the Warriors in 2023 are a different beast,” Fox League’s Andrew Voss said.

But it wasn’t over, with the Sharks being handed a penalty for an offside straight off the kick off – giving Nicho Hynes a chance to respond.

The reigning Dally M Medallist was unable to get the distance from the sideline, handing the Warriors the win.

Sharks backrower Teig Wilton scored the first four-pointer of the night, running onto a Siosifa Talakai offload after a Hynes cross-field kick.

Only minutes later both Cronulla wingers, Sione Katoa and Ronaldo Multialo crossed the line virtually untouched on either side of the field.

The Warriors first try came next after  Shaun Johnson kick was scooped up by hooker Wayde Egan for a simple try.

Will Kennedy then crossed for Cronulla but Andrew Webster’s side wouldn’t sit down, continuing their run with Marata Niukore charging his way over the line.

Niukore was then sent to the sin bin on the stroke of halftime in bizarre scenes, with referee Ben Cummins calling play back multiple tackles after the Bunker spotted a hip-drop tackle.

Johnson then stood tall in the second half, scoring from a horror Mulitalo error.

Edward Kosi quickly added four points of his own a few minutes later as the Warriors continued their comeback.

Try-scoring machine Mulitalo then crossed for his second four-pointer to quell the Warriors momentum.

But Johnson again injected himself in the game, finding a flying Josh Curran who burst over the line to bring the scores level.

With five minutes left, Dale Finucane also was given his marching orders for a hip-drop tackle and off the penalty kick the Warriors failed to find the sideline handing the Sharks a crucial play before the penalty goal chaos ensued.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes had plenty of moments during a super first half performance, having a hand in three of his side’s four tries.

At the break it appeared he may eclipse last week’s mammoth effort against the Dragons, but he couldn’t sustain it and was very quiet in the second stanza (two runs, 13 metres, one error).

His counterpart however, Shaun Johnson, rose to the occasion in the second half.

When his team needed it most, the evergreen halfback was prolific and had his fingerprints all over the Warriors win.

He scored a try, set up the game-tying try and most importantly, slotted the match-winning penalty goal.

“He’s a big match player,” Andrew Voss said on Fox League after Johnson nailed the kick to put the Warriors in front 32-30.

Johnson praised his side’s resilence in a post-match interview with Jake Duke on Fox Sports.

“I love being apart of this side, there’s so much to like,”

“We said some funny stuff at half-time, we were like what a story it’d be if we were to win so let’s just have a crack.

“What a feeling.”

THE DEFENCE RESTS

This is a game the Sharks should never have lost after they exploded out of the blocks with three early tries as Nicho Hynes and Will Kennedy tore the Warriors’ defence to shreds on the edges.

Cronulla’s attack has been scarily good with 12 tries in two games since Hynes returned from injury, but coach Craig Fitzgibbon will likely spend the bye week working on defence after some major lapses in concentration on Sunday.

This is a team that conceded a league-low 56 points after five games in 2022, but they’ve already leaked 117 points through five rounds with their left edge a major concern with opposition teams peppering Matt Moylan.

SIN BIN DRAMA

The NRL has clearly changed its approach to hip-drop tackles after two players were controversially sin binned in Sunday’s shootout.

Even the most one-eyed Sharks supporters were stunned to see Marata Niukore sent to the sin bin on the stroke of half-time for a hip-drop tackle that seemed purely accidental.

The Warriors edge forward brought down Siosifa Talakai near halfway and ended up landing on his ankle, but only after the Sharks centre had powered through the initial contact.

Play was allowed to continue for the rest of the set before referee Ben Cummins brought play back 50 metres to blow a penalty and send a bemused Niukore from the field for 10 minutes.

But there was a square-up late in the second half when Dale Finucane was also sent to the sin bin for a hip-drop tackle on Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad that left him equally confused as to the penalty.

The hip-drop is one of the most dangerous tackles in the game and needs to be stamped out, but you get the feeling both of these decisions were a bit over the top.