The Sharks have been put to the test through the opening seven rounds of the season, clocking up the air miles on trips to Las Vegas, Townsville, Canberra and Perth.
They rolled into Newcastle on Sunday, but Craig Fitzgibbon's men barely had to get out of second gear to defeat the Knights at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Sharks moved into the NRL's top eight and boast a 4-3 start to 2025 ahead of trips to face Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval and a Magic Round showdown with Parramatta in the next fortnight.
It helped the travel-weary Sharks that the Knights threw next to nothing at them.
Adam O'Brien's side have lost four games on the spin, and the NRL's worst attack has shown no signs of improvement.
Newcastle have now scored just 56 points through their opening six games of the season.
Their defensive output could also be called into question after Cronulla raced to a 12-0 lead after 20 minutes, with Nicho Hynes converting from barge-over tries by front-row duo Oregon Kaufusi and Addin Fonua-Blake.
Hynes set up Kaufusi, before the big prop turned provider, offloading in the tackle to set the wheels in motion for Fonua-Blake's second try of the season.
The Knights finally stiffened up in the middle, and it was only through a lovely sweeping left-to-right play that Cronulla crossed in the corner.
Greg Marzhew hit back for the Knights to cut the Sharks' halftime lead to 16-4, but things only went from bad to worse for the home side.
Hooker Phoenix Crossland was sidelined with an ankle injury and winger James Schiller spent time in the sin bin for a high shot on Sharks centre Mawene Hiroti.
With Newcastle down to 12, Cronulla made their advantage count, with Samuel Stonestreet - profiting from Jesse Ramien intercepting a Kalyn Ponga pass - and Will Kennedy crossing.
Sharks prop Toby Rudolf dropped one cold over the line, before Newcastle five-eighth Fletcher Sharpe backed up a cavalier Marzhew run for the Knights' second of the afternoon.
Ponga's conversion of Sharpe's try meant the Knights avoided being held to single-digit scores in four consecutive games for the first time since 1990.
Hiroti and Schiller traded tries in the final 10 minutes.
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