IT might be just as well Cronulla don't have a major sponsor splashed across the front of their jumper - no company would want to be linked to such an insipid performance.
"We were awful," Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said. "It was the worst performance I've been involved with since I've been here."
He was right.
Cronulla secured some much-needed credibility with their unlucky and courageous golden-point loss to Wests Tigers last week. But yesterday it was straight back to the bad old days at Toyota Stadium.
The Sharks, who are still searching for a major sponsor, lacked a little bit of everything: cohesion, finishing ability, passion, execution and fire.
They ended up losing 18-6 to Newcastle and life won't get any easier next week against unbeaten Manly.
Cronulla had three genuine chances to score in the first half but blew them all with some sloppy execution.
Frustrated, they panicked and paid the price.
"We did panic a little," Flanagan said. "But there are no excuses. We had our pants pulled down. We never took our opportunities.
"I don't* know how* much last* week took out of us in that second half but we played poorly. We are all disappointed and disappointed for the fans.
"I guarantee you that wasn't us today. We have to show that in the next couple of weeks."
Cronulla posted their only try in the 78th minute. There was never any chance of a spirited comeback.
Sharks halves Todd Carney and Wade Graham were disjointed, and their forward pack was dominated. Carney dropped two passes in the first half.
*"There are no excuses," Sharks skipper Paul Gallen said. "We should have been up 18-0 or 18-6. We got frustrated after that. It (the loss) wasn't through lack of effort. I know Shane is really upset and disappointed but it's only early days. We have a good side.
"There are no problems getting up the field. It's just getting over the tryline."
Newcastle were courageous and enjoyed complete control of a match in which they lost skipper Kurt Gidley and representative forward Neville Costigan to injuries.
The Knights' class prevailed and there is little doubt that last weekend's heartbreaking loss to the Tigers crushed Cronulla.
It was always going to be a tough task for the Sharks to lift mentally again after such a gut-wrenching defeat.
But the good sides do lift.
The potential is there but Cronulla are still a few steps behind the formidable teams.
Asked about Graham and Carney, Flanagan said: "I thought they worked against each other. They didn't have great games. We had a great crowd here today and great conditions. It's disappointing."
Flanagan said Cronulla's only injury concerns were "a few broken hearts".
