Cronulla remain in the race for the NRL top four but their mentality must improve greatly against last-placed Gold Coast if they are to make their move, captain Cameron McInnes has warned.
The Sharks threw away a gilt-edged chance to go fifth on the ladder last week when they were beaten 22-14 by a hungrier and more committed St George Illawarra.
The Titans await at Sharks Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Cronulla are in seventh on 28 points, one win above the eighth-placed Dolphins and ninth-placed Roosters.
A win for the Sharks could get them as high as fifth, but a loss has the potential to sink them into ninth.
McInnes said looking too far ahead could mean Cronulla misses "the one in front of you."
When asked about whether the Sharks could experience deja vu against Gold Coast, McInnes said: "Of course ... you've got to earn it every week."
"Some of the upsets, they're not upsets. One team turns up applying their plan more than the other team," McInnes added.
"I don't care what your team is or how many games you've won in a row, it can be taken away in one week.
"The way the competition is right now, it doesn't matter where you are situated. If you don't have the right mentality going into the game, you're not going to win.
"We're all first graders and professionals, it's not enough to turn up to play footy. You need to (execute in) the right areas, and that's what the Dragons did."
Cronulla have suffered a blow to their line-up with star centre Jesse Ramien set to miss the rest of the regular season with a broken thumb and back-rower Briton Nikora ruled out through suspension.
The duo will be replaced by Mawene Hiroti and Billy Burns, respectively.
The Titans have injury problems of their own with coach Des Hasler confirming centre Jojo Fifita (ankle) and second-rower Klese Haas (illness) would miss the clash.
They'll join Alofiana Khan-Pereira (hamstring) and Brian Kelly (concussion) on the sidelines with Tony Francis and the club's 2025 leading tryscorer Phillip Sami filling their shoes.
Gold Coast will be boosted with captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui (knee) and fellow Queensland forward Moeaki Fotuaika (illness) both returning and New Zealand fullback Keano Kini (neck) to come off the bench for his first match since round three.
"It's good to get those players back," Hasler said.
"I've said pretty regularly over the last six weeks … sadly, there's been some controversial games and situations where we've been really in control of the game.
"There's a consistency around what we need to do and to execute, and so we'll see what the remaining month does."
