It came in the must-win match against the Brisbane Broncos on Saturday, the Bathurst product again impressing in his fullback role as the Sharks emerged 24-16 victors.

It was a win that kept Cronulla inside the top eight with one round to play and again had coach Josh Hannay praising his performance.

"He's gotten to the point now with his footy where we are no longer talking about a guy in good form. We are talking about a really good player," Hannay said.

"Like he is who is he, this isn't a hot streak, he's done it from it from round one to where we are now, round 24, week-in and week-out.

"He's getting up there with the top echelon of fullbacks in our game in my opinion and he's so important to us."

Kennedy threw the cut-out pass that set up Sione Katoa for the opening try, while his quick tip-on pass to the winger with just over 30 minutes of play gone created a line break which led to another.

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In the second half his desperate chase after a kick was put in behind the line denied Brisbane's Selwyn Cobbo.

On top of that he again earned the most run metres of any Cronulla player with 192.

"He's such a player these days Will Kennedy, he's just got a real good knack of knowing where the weakness is in the defensive line," Hannay said.

"I just love what Will is doing at the moment, he's going to the contest, he's just not waiting for the big play, he's in every play."

Kennedy will likely need another big performance on Friday night against the competition leading Melbourne Storm.

If the Sharks win they will be guaranteed of finals football, but if they lose then their chances will hinge on both the Raiders and Titans losing.

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