After being handed a golden opportunity to seal a spot in the NRL's top four, Craig Fitzgibbon says Cronulla can't get distracted by working out where they could finish.
As they prepare to host Newcastle in the Knights' first game since head coach Adam O'Brien announced he would step down at the end of this season, Cronulla have been handed a big boost in their fight for a top-four spot.
The Warriors' surprise loss to Parramatta on Friday has opened the door for the Sharks and Brisbane to leapfrog the Kiwi outfit on the NRL ladder ahead of the final round of the regular season.
The Sharks would need to ensure they beat Newcastle on Sunday and Canterbury the following week, while hoping the Broncos drop one of their last two games.
Not that Fitzgibbon is losing sleep over the permutations of his side's end to the season.
"It sounds cliche, but how many weeks do we watch a team outside the eight beat a top-eight team? You've got to focus on what's in front of you," the Sharks coach said.
"With what's happened with Adam they'll be wanting to respond.
"We can't worry about other results, just the only thing we can control, and that's to perform well against the Knights.
"We want to play good footy at this stage of the year, and there's nothing more important than the way we perform."
Cronulla haven't lost at home to the Knights since 2014, and welcome back KL Iro to the centres after a long lay-off with a pec injury.
Fitzgibbon, meanwhile, said assistant coach Josh Hannay was more than capable of taking the leap into becoming an NRL head coach.
It was announced this week that Hannay will replace Des Hasler at the Gold Coast Titans next season after working as a No.2 with the Sharks, North Queensland and the Queensland State of Origin team.
"He has been touted for a number of jobs in recent years and he's got the runs on the board," Fitzgibbon said.
"He's got plenty of experience, and then obviously the success of Queensland and the support from Billy (Slater) has obviously put him in the frame.
"He's more than ready and we've lost a good one there.
"As a coach at this club you're disappointed, but as a mate I'm really happy for him, he'll do a terrific job."
