The Cronulla Sharks are on the brink of a finals exit after loss to Newcastle

UNLIKE Todd Carney's flashy yellow boots, the outlook for Cronulla over the next three weeks is anything but bright.

Sharks

UNLIKE Todd Carney's flashy yellow boots, the outlook for Cronulla over the next three weeks is anything but bright.

Coach Shane Flanagan travelled up the F3 thinking his Sharks could beat Newcastle and remain in the hunt for a top-four berth.

Suddenly, Flanagan must be wondering if his team can hold on and make the finals after another lacklustre display by his side.

The Sharks have spluttered at the worst time of year with a fourth defeat in five games.

They lost Wade Graham to the same sternum injury that had kept him sidelined in recent weeks. Graham looked in so much pain, there could be no guarantees he will return any time soon.

Cronulla sit on 27 points, just one ahead of seventh-placed Brisbane and eighth-placed Wests.

Of a real concern for Flanagan, the Sharks have the worst run home of any NRL team.

It all starts on Saturday night at home to a South Sydney team desperate to bounce back from a loss to Manly, not to mention the return of superstar fullback Greg Inglis from suspension.

A road trip to Melbourne follows before a final-round clash in the Shire against finals-bound North Queensland.

The Sharks were buoyed by the return of prop Bryce Gibbs and Graham before the game, and were coming off a huge win over the woeful Warriors.

But they looked down on confidence and energy, especially when it came to their attack. The fifth-tackle options were particularly poor, with Todd Carney being caught twice with the ball.

On a third occasion, he was nearly dragged over the sideline by Jarrod Mullen on the fourth tackle, leaving fullback Matthew Wright to put up a wobbly mid-field bomb.

When it came to the duel between Carney and Mullen, the latter won by unanimous decision.

Cronulla also lacked urgency, with Wright holding off catching a Mullen bomb and letting No.1 opposite Darius Boyd pluck the ball out of his hands to score a try.

Frustrations boiled over when Cronulla bombed what could have been their first try and Jeremy Smith came down with his elbow into the chest of Tyrone Roberts.

The tackle was not penalised, but sparked a melee.

The Sharks finally scored through John Williams, but only after they were gifted field position on the back of a Knights penalty.

One positive was the way the players rushed to Nathan Stapleton and consoled him after he coughed up the ball, which led to the Knights final try.