THEY'VE left it late, but the Newcastle Knights are now the masters of their own finals destiny after a gutsy 16-14 triumph against an equally desperate Cronulla at Redcliffe's Moreton Daily Stadium yesterday.
The victory, Newcastle's third in as many weeks, lifted them to outright seventh on the competition ladder, two points clear of the two teams sitting equal eighth, Gold Coast and Canberra.
If the Knights can win their remaining three games, against Canterbury, the Titans and Brisbane, they will definitely feature in the finals for the second successive year.
Two wins may well be enough for them to scrape into the final eight.
Yesterday's success came at a high price, however, after NSW Origin enforcer Daniel Saifiti sustained a knee injury that is expected to sideline him for at least a couple of games.
Saifiti tried to battle on with strapping but limped off the field soon afterwards.
Newcastle's medical staff diagnosed a torn medial ligament but scans will determine the extent of the damage.
Playmakers Mitchell Pearce (shoulder) and Kalyn Ponga (winded) also had issues that caused concern, but Knights coach Adam O'Brien was confident they would be available for Saturday's clash with the last-placed Bulldogs.
O'Brien was delighted with the two points, and the defensive grit his players showed under extreme pressure, but declared there was still room for improvement.
"It puts us in a better position than we were in this morning, but we've just got to narrow our focus," O'Brien said.
"Tomorrow is about getting our review done, and the next day is about getting training done.
"Now that we've got some players and personnel back, just make some improvements to our game.
"We don't want to look too far down the track. We just need to improve us each day."
O'Brien said his players came prepared for "a tough game" but may have subconsciously relaxed after winger Enari Tuala scored inside the opening minute.
Knights five-eighth Jake Clifford landed a booming conversion from the sideline.
The Sharks hit back 10 minutes later when centre Jesse Ramien crashed over for his fifth try in five games against Newcastle.
Halfback Braydon Trindall converted, but five minutes later a Clifford penalty goal nudged Newcastle into the lead.
Cronulla surged ahead in the 25th minute when winger Ronaldo Mulitalo scored in the corner.
Trindall converted from touch for a 12-8 lead that Cronulla retained until half-time.
The Knights equalised early in the second half when Tuala scored his second try of the match, after a Bradman Best offload.
Nine minutes later, Cronulla shot to a 14-12 lead when Trindall kicked a penalty goal after a Mitch Barnett high shot.
Clifford levelled it up at 14-all after Cronulla were penalised for offside in the 64th minute.
Another penalty, when Ponga was tackled without the ball in the 72nd minute, presented Clifford with a 35-metre shot at goal, right in front.
He was bang on target to give Newcastle a 16-14 advantage.
Sharks coach Josh Hannay was bitterly disappointed to lose such a crucial game.
"I don't think we could have tried much harder," Hannay said.
"It would have been nice to get a call. I've got a devastated group in there."
