NZ Warriors' NRL voyage of doom has gathered more water, as they floundered to another dispiriting defeat at the hands of Cronulla Sharks, 46-10 at Central Coast Stadium.
The result ends the Auckland side's unbeaten stand at its Gosford 'home away from home' during this coronavirus-disrupted campaign.
The Warriors conceded eight tries - seven of them converted by former Mt Smart Stadium darling Shaun Johnson, whose one miss bounced off the uprights from the sideline.
Johnson also claimed a first-half try - his first of the season - which he seemed to celebrate just a little more gleefully than usual, as his new outfit bounced back from a big defeat to Penrith last week.
The Sharks were quickly on top, when Kiwi forward Braden Hamlin-Uele burst through a big gap in the defensive line to score.
But the Warriors seemed to answer almost immediately, when David Fusitu'a pounced on a miscommunication among Sharks defenders to snaffle a loose ball, tip-toe along the touchline and throw a perfect pass infield for Patrick Herbert to touch down.
While replays concentrated on Fusitu'a's efforts to stay in the field of play - which he did by a couple of blades of grass - commentators were stunned to see Herbert botch the putdown, squandering the first of many wasted opportunities.
Within a minute, the deficit was double figures, when Sharks fullback Will Kennedy scored and then winger Ronaldo Mulitalo, before Ken Maumalo finally had the Warriors on the scoreboard.
Johnson had his moment of sweet payback, when he grubbered towards the posts, and chased down a loose ball that eluded two Warriors defenders and the grasp of teammate (and another former Warriors) Chad Townsend.
Trailling 24-4 at the break, the Warriors had shared possession and enjoyed by far the better attacking opportunities, with 28 tackles inside their rivals' 20m zone, but could only capitalise once.
Immediately after the restart, Sharks wing Sione Katoa had the first of two second-half tries, after Johnson gathered a kick under his own posts and galloped 50 metres, before finding his teammate in support. Katoa wrong-footed chasing Peta Hiku to dive over in the corner.
Centre Jesse Ramien also had two tries before the end and for a few minutes, the Sharks had stretched their margin beyond the 37 points they needed to enter the NRL top eight on points differential.
At least the Warriors could deprive of them that satisfaction. Kicking off short from Ramien's second, they regained possession, with Jazz Tevaga and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck throwing outrageous offloads, for Wayde Egan to cross by the posts.
Tuivasa-Sheck's conversion saw Cronulla slide outside the playoff zone for now.
With four players booked to return home next week, the Warriors lost Herbert to a head knock during the second half and will be desperate to find reinforcements for their battered backline.
They lie 13th on the NRL table, ahead of Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans and Canterbury Bulldogs, with defending champions Sydney Roosters looming next Saturday.
Sharks 46 (Katoa 2, Ramien 2, Johnson, Hamlin-Uele, Mulitalo & Kennedy tries; Johnson 7 goals) Warriors 10 (Maumalo & Egan tries; RTS goal)
