Three weeks out from the NRL finals, Cronulla’s season is in danger of imploding after an ugly 38-10 loss to Newcastle in which Chad Townsend was sent off for a horror shot on Kalyn Ponga.

Sharks halfback Townsend was marched from the field by referee Ben Cummins after launching his shoulder at Knights fullback Ponga, who was taking a tap midway through the second half.

Townsend is the third NRL player to be sent off this season, after Addin Fonua-Blake and Kevin Proctor.

The wild hit sparked a melee and forced the Sharks to play a man down and trailing by 18 points with about 25 minutes remaining in the game.

Adding further insult, Friday’s loss could also cost Cronulla captain Wade Graham, Toby Rudolf and Braden Hamlin Uele.

All three were placed on report for two separate lifting tackles.

Graham and Rudolf were lucky to stay on the field when they upended Knights half Mason Lino midway through the first half.

The seven tries to two mauling at McDonald Jones Stadium further dented the Sharks’ record in 2020 as they are yet to beat a current top eight team.

Increasing the urgency is the Warriors’ snapping at their heels just four points adrift with a game in hand, making Cronulla’s spot in the top eight up for grabs with three rounds of the regular season to play.

The Warriors can get within two points of Cronulla if they beat Parramatta on Sunday before they face the Sharks next weekend.

Missing star halfback Shaun Johnson and Matt Moylan, the Sharks struggled with direction but a litany of errors spoiled their chances when they found possession.

Fullback Will Kennedy struggled with three errors for the night, including a knock-on that led to a try for Starford To’a 17 minutes in.

It was the second of two tries for the 20-year-old winger, with Ponga also notching up a double in the first half.

Queensland star Ponga was electric in attack, slipping through soft defence for three tries – his first NRL hat-trick – while Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Josh King also crossed.

Save for tries to Ronaldo Mulitalo and Connor Tracey, the Sharks were undisciplined and disorganised.

It was a huge bounce back for the Knights after last week’s 30-point loss to the Warriors and all but cements their place in the finals.