After suffering five losses from their past six matches, the Wolves put in one of the best displays of the campaign to kick clear of the bottom of the competition and oust their nearest rivals.

A devastating 16 minute spell in the first half which saw Wollongong score all three goals paved the way for the hosts to storm back into the winner’s circle.

Returning striker Nico Bernal led the onslaught with a quick fire brace while Darcy Madden added a vital third to propel Wollongong to the crucial win.

"I think the first half was the best first half we have put together this season,” Wolves coach Jacob Timpano said of the performance.

"We really blew them off the park I thought and that was the plan to go out there and not give an inch of space.

“To really push forward and take our chances which we did.

"It probably could have been more than three at half time but the first 45 was outstanding and that sort of set the tone for the match."

The Wolves were positive from the outset and were creating the majority of the early chances on their home patch.

Madden came close in the 15th minute, but he couldn't scramble his effort into the net in heavy traffic.

Bernal would have no such problem eight minutes later.

The Chilean striker showed his class when he chested down and fired a brilliant volley past Nathan Denham.

He doubled his tally, taking his total to four for the season, in the 34th minute.

Wolves skipper Chris Price got up highest on the corner and headed back across goal for Bernal to head in the hosts second.

Wollongong's night got even better five minutes before the break when Madden pounced first on a loop ball towards the back post and bundled off the post and in.

It set up a crucial 3-0 buffer at the break which the Wolves held throughout the majority of a much more sloppy second stanza until Joshua Da Silva scored a consolation goal for the Sharks in the 83rd minute. 

Timpano admitted he was disappointed his side took his foot off the pedal, but accepted that it came after his men had done the hard work.

"They are hard score lines when you're up 3-0. As a coach, you really want to make it five, six, seven,” he said.

“I have been in those games where it probably does get a bit comfortable and I was disappointed with the second half. We should have continued what we did in the first half but in the end we got the three points.”

The triumph ensures Wollongong moved off the bottom of the ladder – a position they momentarily held following Saturday’s results.