It also breathed fresh life into his own career, one he admits was on life support after a number false starts in his four NRL seasons.

He featured in countless highlight reels in that time, but just as often in video sessions behind closed doors as consistency eluded him.

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It continued into the 2020 season where he was first overlooked for Zac Lomax, recalled, and then assigned to ballboy duties against the Bulldogs in round four.

When he got the call-up for the Sharks clash a week later, he wasn't sure how many more chances he would get.

"When they gave me that shot against Cronulla that was when I really sat down and thought 'this is my chance, their might not be another one'," Dufty said.

"It's been hard this year with the boys not getting selected not being able to play any footy [with no reserve grade].

"It really hit home for me that it could be where my career starts or finishes and I just tried to take it with both hands.

"I had nothing to lose and I just wanted to play footy. Back in 2018 when I probably had my best year I was just playing footy with confidence.

"All the coaching staff have put their faith in me now and I'm trying to repay them for keeping me in that No. 1 spot."

He's done so with five more tries, while he's also leading his side in try assists, since the match against the Sharks that was also Ben Hunt's first outing at hooker.

It came just a week after a rock bottom 22-2 loss to the Bulldogs that Dufty says was the real turning point in his side's season.

"Mary's future was decided and all the boys got around it and said 'it's not on Mary anymore, it was never on Mary'," Dufty said.

"It was on us to start performing and pick up that embarrassment of where we were at the start of the year. We knew with our roster we had a lot of good players in our team and we were underperforming.

"It really hit home for our whole team. We knew we were a lot better and had a lot more to give, it just took a couple of weeks for us to click and for the whole team to get confidence back.

"That [Cronulla game] was where we put in most of our changes with Hunty and hooker and stuff like that. I think it's worked out and from there the boys have started to shine."

They'll face the Sharks again in an 'away' game at Kogarah on Saturday with a chance to draw level with their arch-rivals on the ladder.

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It would also be a third straight win for the first time this season after getting out of jail late against the Bulldogs in Wollongong last week.

"It was a pretty good feeling and it's a credit to how far we've come since the start of the year, we were down 18-0 against the Warriors [in round three] and couldn't score one point," Dufty said.

"Not getting our heads down and staying in the fight was the most pleasing thing. Those two points, come the end of the year, could be the most important we get all year.

"The Sharks are coming off two big wins and they're in good form so it'll be a good challenge. It's an important game for both our seasons and both teams will turn up."