Five minutes later, Lousi failed to get off the line after Carney had turned the screws with a brilliant 40/20 kick, leaving a gaping hole that Robson strolled through for the dagger try. In fairness to Lousi, he had made the two previous tackles in the set, and he could have received more help from markers Feleti Mateo and Simon Mannering, however, he was struggling for oxygen long before that fatal final moment.
Lousi probably wouldn't have been out there at all had it not been for the injury situation, and the Warriors are hardly the first team to fade out late after backing up from a Monday night match. But there was more than just misfortune at play in a defeat that confirmed the Warriors lack the mental fortitude to close out crucial contests.
The costly moments included Slaimankhel's unfortunate opening to an otherwise solid debut; Matulino blundering into the Sharks' defensive line to cost his side two points in the final minutes of the first half; and Hurrell turning over possession with a rush of blood in the final moments when the match was still there to be salvaged.
Such moments don't lose matches on their own. But stack up enough of them and defeat becomes inevitable.
"Little things add up," coach Brian McClennan said. "Cronulla held the ball really well, and we got done in the penalty count as well."
McClennan fingered a "lack of concentration at key times" as the reason the Warriors had frequently blown winning positions.
"When we get one put on our chin we have to recover quicker and get back into the grind of the game. While we are grinding away we are actually doing pretty well.
"I think we are improving and we did improve in [Saturday night's game], but we still let in two tries in five minutes."
Improving maybe, but the NRL doesn't hand out points for getting better during losses. The bottom line is the Warriors are still struggling to inject anything resembling consistency into their campaign. Their top four aspirations are dead, their hopes of any sort of finals appearance dwindling.
"That's the cold, hard facts of it all," McClennan said.
"But we have to still stick to the processes of what can bring us success. I still maintain there is actually growth there as a team. We are getting better and our younger players are getting more and more experience."
Some consolation can perhaps be found in the news that Matulino and Luck's injuries aren't thought to be serious, and both should face the Cowboys in a fortnight.
The news on Vatuvei isn't quite so optimistic. A minor knee ligament tear is to be monitored over the coming days.
If it doesn't respond to treatment, he will require surgery that would sideline him for up to three weeks.
