Cronulla have gained derby bragging rights with a stirring 32-18 victory over St George Illawarra in a niggly, wet and sometimes wild NRL encounter at Jubilee Stadium.
Tempers flared and fists flew but it was mostly the Sharks who fired as Dragons fans learnt that a new coach isn't always the solution to a faltering team's problems.
Playing under former Brisbane and Penrith mentor Anthony Griffin for the first time, the Dragons were dreadful in the first half as Cronulla cashed in on a masterful wet-weather kicking game to lead 14-0 at the break.
The Dragons rallied upon the resumption, threatening to seize the lead with an exciting 10-minute burst.
But the Sharks, with off-contract veterans Josh Dugan and Matt Moylan playing like their futures depended on it, weathered the storm to take the round-one competition points.
"It's a good reward for a lot of hard effort that's gone in over the pre-season," Morris said of Cronulla's first round-one win in eight years.
"We certainly raised the bar with a few of the things we did, getting ready for the year, and I was confident coming here when you put in that sort of work.
"A few nervous moments in the second half but I was happy for them to hang on and it's always good to win a local derby."
While the victory eased some early-season pressure on Sharks coach John Morris, it could be a long year for Griffin and his equal wooden-spoon favourites.
They might have won this game if not for a series of clumsy and fundamental blunders, starting almost from the get-go.
"It was a frustrating round-one game," Griffin said.
"We gave them 14-start and that was the difference in the end.
"We had to make 120 more tackles and we did that to ourselves.
"You feed a team like them 12 or 13 errors in our end, you're going to pay."
A sloppy play-the-ball from winger Cody Ramsey gifted Cronulla an early attacking set in front of the sticks.
The Sharks didn't need a second invitation, Dugan pouncing on a Chad Townsend grubberkick to open the scoring in just the fourth minute.
Cronulla's second try also came from a kick, fullback Will Kennedy regaining his own to double the visitors' lead.
Jesse Ramien found himself in the sin bin after sparking a melee with a high shot to the back of Matt Dufty's head.
But even while down a man, the Sharks increased their advantage to 14 points with a Townsend penalty after he'd converted both early tries.
St George Illawarra had to score first after the break, and did when Kennedy and winger Ronaldo Mulitalo let Ben Hunt's bomb bounce straight into the arms of Adam Clune, who powered over to breath fresh life into the contest.
If that try was soft, the Dragons' second minutes later was something special from Dufty.
The electrifying fullback steamed onto a short ball from Hunt on halfway, beat four defenders and carried another over in a scintillating 50-metre burst that reduced the deficit to two points.
The Dragons thought they'd hit the front on the hour when Ramsey dived over after Sharks winger Sione Katoa couldn't handle another towering Hunt bomb, only for the bunker to pick up a knock on from Jack Bird in the lead-up.
The let-off proved costly as the Sharks sealed victory through back-to-back tries to Mulitalo and Kennedy.
