Any questions surrounding Shaun Johnson's club form will have to wait for another week.
Johnson produced a patented moment of magic to stun the Sharks tonight and clinch an unlikely victory with the final play of the game.
The Warriors seemed set for a sixth loss of the season when Andrew Fifita put the home side in front with two minutes to play, but Johnson had other ideas.
Capitalising on a vital chargedown from Ryan Hoffman, Johnson received the ball 25 metres from the line, completely changing the point of attack before weaving his way through several defenders and across the line.
The try would have been especially sweet for Johnson after coming under criticism as the Warriors stuttered their way through the new campaign's opening couple of months.
Doubts were raised surrounding the playmaker's selection for the Kiwis but an impressive performance in last weekend's win over the Kangaroos silenced the knockers.
And tonight's heroics should ensure another quiet week, even if Johnson, like the rest of the team, had hardly been near his best in the opening 79 minutes. Johnson's tactical kicking game was found wanting as the Warriors struggled to turn chances into points, while three missed conversions looked costly.
But any animus from the fans was extinguished in stunning style, giving the Warriors the type of victory they need if this season is to take a favourable turn. The two competition points moved the Warriors clear of the Sharks and into an eight-team logjam for sixth spot on the ladder, though other results may alter that standing.
A couple of concerns did emerge from the match and will slightly dampen the Warriors' spirits. Manu Vatuvei suffered a sternum injury midway through the second spell that ended his involvement, while Konrad Hurrell was placed on report after he led with a knee that saw would-be tackler Anthony Tupou suffer a badly broken jaw.
And the Warriors' discipline will cause some consternation among Andrew McFadden and his staff. It took the visitors only half an hour to surpass their season average in penalties, allowing the Sharks plenty of possession and leaving the Warriors with plenty of tackles to make.
Pleasingly for a side that switched off defensively for large portions of their previous outing against the Titans, the Warriors made the majority of those tackles to restrict the Sharks to a pair of tries, although Fifita's potential match-winner undid much of the good work.
Developments on the other side of the ball were a bit of a mixed bag, with the Warriors limiting errors and illustrating impressive execution in some attacks but being aimless in others.
The visitors completed 16 of their 17 sets in the first half, and such a rate of success produced tries to Vatuvei and Jonathan Wright, only for their composure to desert them after the break. The Warriors' completion rate nosedived and, when they did manage to take it to tackle five, Johnson's kicking was wayward as opportunities for repeat sets, at the very least, were squandered.
Aside from allowing Solomone Kata to bomb a certain try, Cronulla easily dealt with most of what the Warriors were throwing at them. They kicked well to control field position as the half progressed but that level of control added up to little as a grateful Kata seemingly won the game with seven minutes to play.
That lead, though, lasted all of five minutes before Fifita struck, leaving Johnson to conjure up yet another piece of late-game sorcery and cap a frantic finale.
Sharks 16 (L. Lewis; A. Fifita tries; V. Holmes 2 cons, 2 pens) Warriors 20 (J. Wright, M. Vatuvei, S. Kata, S. Johnson tries; S. Johnson pen, con) HT: 8-8
- by Kris Shannon
