Sharks' coach Craig Fitzgibbon has pinpointed the moment his side turned their season around, ahead of Friday's preliminary final clash with the Melbourne Storm.
Fitzgibbon reflected on a difficult mid-season period, admitting there were doubts about their form, but stressed that the group always believed that they're genuine premiership contenders.
"There was a bit of concern there that we weren’t playing well enough, I think that was obvious," Fitzgibbon said.
"We never lost more than two in a row though."
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For Fitzgibbon, the turning point came after a disappointing performance against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, which he labelled "unacceptable" by the club's standards.
That loss forced an immediate reset, with a daunting trip to Melbourne the following week presenting the perfect opportunity to test their resolve.
"We had to come down here to play the Storm the week after, but we had to reset," Fitzgibbon said of that crucial period.
Cronulla were highly competitive in that game, only to see the contest slip away in the dying stages.
"We were really competitive that game, but the game got away from us in the last 10-15 minutes," Fitzgibbon said.
"It was the start of what we needed to address and work on and then from that point on it’s been relatively consistent."
The Sharks have since built an impressive resume, winning nine of their past ten games. They've tightened up their defence and sharpened their attack to reach their fourth consecutive finals campaign.
For Fitzgibbon, the disappointments of years past have helped forge the mentality required to go all the way this season.
"You get hardened by your heartache, and we’ve had a bit in the semi-finals for the previous years," he said.
The coach believes that those hard lessons have equipped Cronulla with the resilience to upset the Storm at AAMI Park and book their ticket to the big dance.