A week after leading 16-8 at halftime in Brisbane, only to be outscored 32-2 in the second half, the Dragons trailed by four at the break, but didn't look like posting a point in the second 40.

It came as returning Sharks star Nicho Hynes put on a play-making masterclass, laying on three tries and having a hand in two others on his return from a calf injury.

Despite the first half finishing at two tries apiece, the hosts never looked in the game after halftime and have now gone down by a combined margin of 60-2 in its past two second stanzas.

While the Broncos were red-hot a week earlier, the Dragons did their arch-rivals no shortage of favours, completing at a woeful 42 per cent in the second half and missing 25 tackles.

Another second-half capitulation was the last thing Griffin needed to end a week in which his immediate future was again thrust into the spotlight.

The under-fire 56-year-old flat-batted questions surrounding his future in the lead-up to the clash following revelations the club is exploring other coaching options beyond this year.

The likes of Jason Ryles, Dean Young, Ben Hornby and Shane Flanagan have all been mooted as possible candidates and the shortlist will only draw more discussion should the Dragons' wobbles continue through winnable outings against the Dolphins, Titans and Raiders over the next three weeks.

It was a performance that prompted skipper Ben Hunt to tell ABC Grandstand he "felt sorry" for his coach in the aftermath, labelling the performance "embarrassing" and the second half "rubbish."

Compounding the drama, young gun Jayden Sullivan also finished up on report for an alleged trip on Sharks fullback Will Kennedy in the 65^th minute.

Read more: 'It's a question I can't answer' Anthony Griffin tight-lipped on Dragons future

The Sharks crossed first through Kennedy when Hynes caught the Dragons short with beautiful long ball that put Ronald Mulitalo into space.

Streaking down the eastern touchline, Mulitalo produced a deft kick back across field to find his fullback in support for the first try seven minutes in.

The visitors had multiple opportunities to extend the margin, but seemingly couldn't see out a set at the Dragons end.

Hunt made them pay at the other end, slipping past Hynes to grab his side's first four-pointer, though Lomax's ugly attempt at the extras was waved away.

The hosts took their first lead minutes later, when Sullivan snuck down a short side to create space for Jaydn Su'A to cross for the Dragons second.

Lomax's rough evening with the tee continued, keeping the margin at two 15 minutes before the break.

The Sharks hit back through Ramien after Sullivan fumbled a Hynes bomb under heavy attention from McInnes, the returning star nailing the conversion for a four-point cushion at halftime.

An error from Sullivan off an ill-considered offload from Moses Suli opened the door for the visitors to extend their lead through Mulitalo, who finished off a neat exchange of passing to cross in the corner just three minutes after the resumption.

Briton Nikora followed up seven minutes later, crossing under the posts off a neat short ball from Hynes who added the extras for a 16-point lead.

Mulitalo had his second when a Hynes grubber close to the Dragons line took a favourable deflection for Moylan, who found his winger via Siosifa Talakai.

Ramien and Sione Katoa also got across as the onslaught continued, with even the phantom siren re-emerging with 14 minutes left to try and call proceedings to a halt.

In the end it was Talakai who had the final say with a 79^th minute penalty goal to bring up 40 points before time ran out.

Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content.

Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play