Jubilant North Queensland broke its season duck in continuing Cronulla's early-season woes with a 36-10 thumping of the Sharks in their National Rugby League mismatch at Toyota Park.

A week after their embarrassing capitulation to South Sydney and still reeling from the subsequent 10-match suspension dished out to five-eighth Greg Bird for kneeing an opponent in the head, the hapless Sharks remained rooted to equal last place on the competition table following their first loss to the Cowboys since 1996.

The six-tries-to-two drubbing was Cronulla's first-ever home loss to the Cowboys and only their second defeat from 15 meetings with the lowly-rated Queenslanders.

Cronulla captain Brett Kimmorley labelled the Sharks' effort "disgraceful" after watching his team fumble its way through the 80-minute horror show.

The marker defence was almost non-existence as the Cowboys made hay around the rucks, leaving Kimmorley and coach Stuart Raper admitting the Sharks were out-muscled, out-manoeuvred and out-enthused.

They didn't need to say outclassed. It was obvious.

"It was disgraceful at the start to turn up with what looked like no interest," Kimmorley said.

The incumbent Test half agreed the situation was getting desperate for the Sharks, whose one-from-five start to the season compares only slightly better than last year when they opened with six straight defeats and failed to recover in finishing 12th.

"We seem to be going down the same path we went down last year," Kimmorley said.

"It's hard to know how we're going to turn it around after the way we walked off tonight.

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