The Sharks trailed 16-0 to Kiama during the first stanza, but stormed home to win 26-20 at Collegians Sports Centre on Sunday.

The minor premiers appeared in dire trouble when tries to Kiama's Ben Wade, Cameron Cornell and Daniel Cowley gave the Knights a commanding buffer.

Kiama must have fancied their chances of achieving back-to-back premierships, as sturdy goal-line defence also denied the opposition.

However, a turning point in the contest occurred right on the half-time siren.

A miracle off-load in heavy traffic found Craig Nolan, who crossed.

The try went unconverted, but the Knights were visibly frustrated at having afforded their more fancied opponents a whiff of a comeback.

Upon the resumption, Kiama were perhaps a little overly ambitious in attack, turning over possession on a few occasions.

The momentum had clearly shifted when Sharks prop Josh Cuthbert barged over for a simple four-pointer.

Man of the Match Jai Dormer danced around the defence like Fred Astaire and squared the ledger.

Almost immediately, Chris Borneman was the beneficiary of a cross-field kick, reeling in a great bounce to touch down in the corner.

Mistakes from both sides invited attacking opportunities, and the Sharks appeared to seal it when the “mousetrap” play fooled the Knights defence and Nolan bagged his second.

The Knights didn't concede defeat though, setting up a grandstand finish by spreading the ball wide for Jacob Dolan to back up with five minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for Kiama, that was their final scoring play of the day as Shellharbour ultimately lifted the trophy.