KEY POINTS:
Perhaps it was divine intervention. After all, The Bible considers seven a lucky number and, with the Warriors chasing their first win in seven games, they achieved what many said they wouldn't, or couldn't.
Ivan Cleary won't care if it was the work of the big man upstairs, or Elvis, but he might give more credit to the 17 players who took to Shark Park last night.
It wasn't pretty but nor is a run of six-straight losses and nor was the howling southerly that lashed Sydney's south coast last night.
The win was achieved on the back of a dogged defensive effort, and was reminiscent of the way the Sharks have played this season.
The Warriors have now conceded only six points in their past two games and were rarely threatened by an impotent Sharks outfit.
The playoffs are still a distant hope but at least after last night there is hope.
Few Warriors were as excited afterwards as Manu Vatuvei, who completed his redemption when he scored the match-winner in the 78th minute. And few were better than the much-maligned Michael Witt, who scored the opening try and landed two conversions, including one from the touchline into the teeth of the raging gale.
Coach Cleary would also have quite enjoyed getting one over Sharks boss Ricky Stuart, who put the boot into Cleary earlier in the week after accusations of his players taking a dive. There's nothing like a win to get the last laugh.
Cleary played a few trump cards just before kickoff. He rang in the changes, with Simon Mannering and Todd Byrne moving into the centres, replacing Lance Hohaia and Tony Martin, and Louis Anderson returning to the side after two weeks cooling his heels with the Auckland Lions.
The Warriors played with the wind in their backs in the first spell but didn't get full purchase from it, going to the break only 6-2 ahead.
They made only three errors in the slippery conditions - incredibly both sides' completion rates were above 80 per cent in the first 40 - but they lacked fluidity and were too predictable on attack and executed a poor kicking game.
They tried chip kicks from midfield or put it into touch when they should have been thumping it deep into Sharks territory.
It was all too easy for the Sharks, who are the best in the business at grinding out a win, and would have relished the arm-wrestle.
But the Sharks couldn't breach the Warriors defence in the second spell, with Wade McKinnon clutching every kick that came his way.
Witt opened the scoring on the back of some solid Warriors pressure. He simply glided through a gap to dot down in the 12th minute after a bullocking run by Evarn Tuimivave.
It was their only real chance in the opening spell, however, and the Sharks worked their way back into the match and actually had the better of the final 20 minutes.
The second half passed in a wash of mistakes - none more so than the butchering of a try by Patrick Ah Van, who spilled a simple pass with the tryline beckoning. Witt had weaved his way through the Sharks defence and looped a pass to Ah Van, only to see the Warriors winger impersonate Vatuvei against the Eels recently.
Grant Rovelli was denied by the video referee but the match-winner finally came when Nathan Fien put through a grubber close to the line and Vatuvei gratefully landed on the ball to score.
Thank heavens for small mercies. Some pretty big prayers had been answered.
Sharks 2 (L. Covell gl) Warriors 12 (M. Witt, M. Vatuvei tries, Witt 2 gls). Halftime: 2-6.
Lance Hohaia scored two tries but it wasn't enough to stop the Auckland Lions going down 34-16 to the Sharks in their NSW Premier League match yesterday.
