The Knights were never threatened when defeating the Sharks 18-6 in a dour battle at Toyota Stadium in Round 2.
Akuila Uate drew first blood for the visitors seven minutes into the contest, crossing in the right corner after some smart assistance from centre Wes Naiqama who scooped up a spilled Jarrod Mullen cross-field bomb and swept the ball wide to his winger. Naiqama added the extras for a 6-nil lead the Knights would hold to the halftime break.
Back-rower Chris Houston embarrassed the Sharks’ goal-line defenders when he pushed through from first receiver for an all-too-easy four-pointer that made it 12-nil just three minutes into the second section.
The Knights added to their points tally in the 64th minute when Junior S’au crashed over on the left edge, exposing yet again some flimsy Sharks defence.
Cronulla were only able to get on the scoreboard in the final minute of play when Ben Pomeroy dived on a loose ball in the Knights’ in-goal after an opposition player was ruled to have raked the Steeden free from Sharks fullback Nathan Gardner as he was attempting to ground for a try.
The Sharks simply could not convert their chances in attack – they made seven line-breaks throughout the afternoon to the Knights’ three and enjoyed a 233-metre advantage in running metres. However errors (17) and poor execution (60 per cent completions) ruined their chances.
Kade Snowden had a strong game up front for the Knights, making 20 hit-ups and 166 metres, while fullback Gardner was the Sharks’ best with 178 metres and 10 tackle-breaks.
