Cronulla have held their nerve against a brave Penrith to claim their fifth NRL win in a row and rubber-stamp their premiership credentials.
In a high-quality affair, the Panthers had an opportunity to send the game into golden point after James Fisher-Harris scored to reduce the margin to two in the 77th minute.
But Jamie Soward's sideline conversion hooked just wide, leaving the Panthers with their third two-point loss of the season, continuing an extraordinary run of close matches.
All eight of their games this season have been decided in the final five minutes.
It was yet another brave performance from a Penrith side that played the final 45 minutes with 15 men after losing Waqa Blake and Te Maire Martin to injuries in the first half.
Martin could be out for some time after fracturing his shoulder.
For the Sharks however, the victory consolidates their spot in the top four, equal second with defending premiers North Queensland ahead of next week's home blockbuster against ladder leaders Brisbane.
Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan credited the win to a first half shutout of the Panthers, where they turned away a remarkable 30 plays inside their own red zone.
"The first half won us the game, there was half a dozen sets on our tryline," he said.
Penrith responded with four tries in the second half, however Matt Moylan and Soward landed just one conversion from four attempts for the night.
Winger Valentine Holmes scored a 70-metre solo effort to put Cronulla ahead in the 73rd minute.
Panthers coach Anthony Griffin laid into his team for conceding what he labelled as "soft" tries, including the opening one to Michael Ennis from dummy half.
"I'm proud of their effort, and we've moving forwards obviously," he said.
"But Ennis' try in the first half and the try from when we had them plugged in their half at 14-all, they're just soft points that we shouldn't be conceding."
Sharks skipper Paul Gallen was enormous for his team, amassing 226 metres and 44 tackles in a typically lion-hearted performance, while halfback Chad Townsend produced some big second half moments.
For the Panthers, Trent Merrin had his best outing since joining over the summer, while rookie forward Fisher-Harris bagged an impressive double.
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