A Matt Giteau masterclass, with boot and brain, took the Western Force to a third successive home win on Friday night, beating the Sharks 22-12 at Subiaco Oval.

With Giteau taking over place kicking duties from the clearly hampered Cameron Shepherd, the Wallaby superstar deputised seamlessly - and then showed why he commands the massive dollars with a world class assist.

Setting Shepherd up for his sixth try of the season with a wonderfully evasive break, Giteau helped put the Force up 13-6 at half-time and on course for a top four berth.

But Ruan Pienaar and Francois Steyn were able to keep the Sharks within biting distance - until three more Giteau penalties took the Force clear of the Sharks on the night, and level with the South Africans on the ladder.

Force skipper Nathan Sharpe said calmness under pressure had been the key.

"The boys are so focused and it just shows the character in this team," Sharpe said.

"They had only lost one game coming into tonight, so I think it was a bit of a litmus test for us tonight and we are improving week by week."

A raft of changes to the named Sharks line-up saw Bobby Skinstad elevated into the run on side - but the Springbok veteran would not have welcomed the frantic first twenty minutes after his long injury absence.

With ambition more akin to sevens than Super 14 from both sides, territory yielded the Force the first six points through the boot of Giteau.

Shepherd's slight tear to a ligament in his right knee did not prevent him playing on his 23rd birthday, but it did hinder the attributes that have made him Super 14's top scorer.

After Pienaar was told he'd missed a penalty goal he thought he'd slotted, he missed one he should have kicked - allowing Giteau to show he was even more lethal with ball in hand than at his feet.

After Scott Fava snaffled the turnover, Giteau took over, stringing steps together to beat two men, before spinning 360 degrees in a tackle to feed Shepherd.

After two misses, Pienaar found his range and kicked two, including one after the siren following some skullduggery in a maul by Nathan Sharpe.

And despite all the slick handling, it was the boot - namely a Pienaar penalty and a prodigious 50m drop goal from Steyn - that had the visitors within range shortly after the break.

With 30 minutes still remaining, the Force of last year, or even of earlier this season, may have crumbled.

But with Giteau marshalling from midfield, John Mitchell's men played to their strengths, tempting the Sharks repeatedly into offside plays.

Those offences garnered regular points, and forced referee Lyndon Bray to eventually sinbin Warren Britz and Rory Kockott for repeated infringements.

But with 13 men the Sharks still found enough vigour to press for a losing bonus point - which was also denied them by Super 14's meanest defence.

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