Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan admits he is at a loss to explain the defensive inconsistencies that threaten to derail his team's push for a crucial top-four finish.
But he wants it to end now.
The Sharks conceded 30 points for the third time in their past six matches after getting outhustled by Canberra at Southern Cross Group Stadium on Saturday night.
"We've played good for a couple of weeks then put a bad one in. I'm not quite sure what the reason is, but we need to get back on the horse really quickly," Flanagan said.
"It's at the pointy end of the season."
Flanagan was particularly upset with the three tries his team conceded in a 24-minute period in the first half that he believes decided the game.
"The lady down the corner shop would've known BJ Leilua was going to come out and pass to (Jordan) Rapana on that side there," Flanagan said.
"And so did the other try to Josh Papalii, we knew they were all coming, we just didn't handle them. That was the disappointing thing for me, and the kick-try. It was all over after that."
Another defeat against third-placed Brisbane next week could drop the reigning premiers as low as sixth on the ladder with just three games remaining.
Flanagan is adamant a top-four finish remains the priority.
"We're still fourth and there's still four games to go. We win the majority of those, we're going to be in the top four," he said.
"Everyone knows the semi-final series is completely different but we've got a job to do over the next month still as well."
Flanagan also played down a shoulder injury to star centre Jack Bird, who trudged off late in the game after being squashed awkwardly by Raiders big man Junior Paulo.
"It's a bit of a shoulder complaint there, we'll just monitor over the next 24 hours, but I don't think it's as bad as first thought," Flanagan said.
Five-eighth James Maloney is set to return from a hand injury for the Broncos clash but hooker Jayden Brailey is still another week away.
