Atkinson lands one-point to deliver two-points for Cronulla

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Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Newcastle Knights

A golden point field goal to Daniel Atkinson proved the difference as the Cronulla Sharks secured a 19-18 win over the Newcastle Knights to move a step closer to a top four finish.

In a match which saw the Sharks start fast, the Knights recover to control proceedings and a field goal shootout to close out regulation time, Atkinson landed the decisive score in the 85th minute to the delight of 11,503 supporters at PointsBet Stadium.  

The Sharks wasted little time in asserting their attacking intentions with Daniel Atkinson (3rd minute) producing a solo run before threading through a grubber for Briton Nikora (7th minute) to establish a 10-0 lead.

Newcastle debutant Kyle McCarthy made amends for a rough start by contesting a bomb which fortuitously ended up in the hands of Kai Pearce-Paul (21st minute), who broke through to score his first try in the NRL.

Momentum began to shift in favour of the visitors with Kalyn Ponga capitalising on Cronulla errors with a superb cut-out pass to send Greg Marzhew (30th minute) over for a lead-changing four-pointer.

Phoenix Crossland was sent to the sin bin for slowing down the play the ball close to the try line as the halftime siren sounded; Atkinson attempted to level the scores with a penalty goal only for his kick to hit the posts, leaving the Knights ahead 12-10 at the change of ends.

The Knights refused to wilt despite playing a man down with Ponga showing great desperation to deny Siosifa Talakai a try and adding a penalty goal to establish a four-point margin.

The one-way flow of points continued with Dane Gagai (49th minute) demonstrating his experience and footwork to put the visitors beyond a converted try.

A penalty goal to Atkinson on the hour mark proved fortuitous as Ronaldo Mulitalo (73rd minute) managed to ground the ball just before the dead ball line, allowing Atkinson to nail a sideline conversion to level the scores at 18-all.

Both Ponga and Atkinson were unable to land field goals as the clock approached 80 minutes, resulting in the third golden point meeting between the two clubs. 

The Knights looked to secure victory in golden point with an intercept by Will Kennedy denying Ponga a try and Crossland attempting to land a one-pointer from close range only to fall wide of the mark.

The Sharks weren't to be denied as the first half of extra time drew to a close with Atkinson stepping up to land his second field goal of the season, sealing the 19-18 result to keep their top four hopes alive and all but end the Knights chances of playing finals football.

Next week, the Sharks will travel to Wollongong on Sunday afternoon for a local derby against the Dragons, while the Knights will face the Rabbitohs on Saturday night in Sydney.