Cronulla have blown the NRL’s top-four race wide open with a courageous and epic 10-8 victory over the high-flying Warriors in Auckland.

A miracle defensive play from fullback Will Kennedy allowed in-form playmaker Braydon Trindall to slot the Sharks’ match-winning two-point field goal two minutes from fulltime on Saturday night.

Warriors centre Adam Pompey had the chance to send the match into golden point, but pushed a last-second penalty attempt wide to the despair of home fans at Go Media Stadium.

Seconds before Trindall’s sealer, Kennedy rushed desperately out of the line to charge down a Te Maire Martin field-goal attempt to put the Warriors in front in the lowest-scoring match of the season.

Instead, Kennedy pulled off an Ashes-like slips catch to steal possession in one of the plays of the season.

The upshot was Cronulla bursting from the pack to surge from eighth on the ladder to fifth, above the Sydney Roosters and behind only the Dolphins and Manly on points differential.

Even without State of Origin reps Addin Fonua-Blake and injured stars Nicho Hynes and Blues hooker Brayden Bailey, the Sharks dug deep to inflict only the second defeat of the season on the second-placed Warriors.

AAP