CRONULLA grabbed a psychological advantage over Newcastle leading into the season opener with a 30-6 hammering in Saturday's trial match at Maitland Sportsground.
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The two sides will clash again in 13 days, with two competition points at stake, in the opening round at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The new-look Knights, whose starting side included high-profile recruits David Klemmer, Tim Glasby, Jesse Ramien, James Gavet, Kurt Mann and Edrick Lee, were given a brusque reminder that the Sharks remain their bogey team.
Cronulla have won eight consecutive NRL games against Newcastle, a streak dating back to 2015 and which includes scorelines as ugly as 62-0, 36-4, 48-10 and 38-12.
They have every reason to be supremely confident of making it nine straight on March 15.
Paul Gallen and company were quick to grab the upper hand on Saturday.
They drew first blood in the sixth minute, when fullback Matt Moylan created an overlap for centre Josh Dugan to crash over.
Moylan was again the instigator in the 26th minute when he chipped ahead and forced a fumble from Newcastle fullback Connor Watson.
New signing Brett Morris was on hand to pounce on the loose ball and score.
A minute before half-time, prop Andrew Fifita powered over from close range and former Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson kicked his third conversion of the half to make it 18-0.
The only concern for the Sharks at the interval were a head knock that forced Dugan out of the game in the 20th minute, and a calf strain that prompted Moylan to leave the field for treatment.
Moylan returned soon after with his calf heavily strapped but was not used after half-time. He later emerged from the dressing room wearing a polo shirt and clutching two bags of ice.
Fifita and Gallen were also given an early mark after Cronulla's dominant first 40 minutes.
Newcastle's cause was not helped by poor ball security. They rarely threatened Cronulla in the first half, except when a midfield bomb bounced opportunely for Lee.
The Knights spun the ball infield only for Watson to fumble, with a gap in front of him and the tryline begging.
Cronulla extended their lead in the 49th minute when winger Sosaia Feki dived over in the corner, and Johnson converted from the sideline.
Three minutes later, Sharks halfback Chad Townsend raced away to score between the posts.
Teenage winger Starford Toa produced a rare highlight for Newcastle in the 58th minute, when he showed blinding pace and footwork to score in the corner.
Knights centre Ramien also ran the ball strongly against his former club.
