Coach Jason Demetriou believes South Sydney are at a crossroads and must decide what they want to accomplish as a historically close NRL season intensifies.
The Rabbitohs were outplayed by a desperate Cronulla outfit in Perth on Saturday night, their clunky attack and weak edge defence consigning them to a 26-16 loss.
Souths have now lost three of their last four games and will fall behind the logjam in the middle of the ladder unless they can recapture their form from earlier in the season.
The Rabbitohs sat first on the ladder after 11 rounds but have since struggled for consistency, with defence the major cause for concern.
South Sydney conceded an average of 13.6 points per game in their first 11 games, but have bled an average of 28.6 in the ten since.
In attack, the return of star fullback Latrell Mitchell from a calf injury has not been the quick-fix pundits had anticipated, either.
The Rabbitohs were far from dominant in their defeat of Wests Tigers in Mitchell's first game back last week and he struggled to ignite Souths in the loss to Cronulla.
If Parramatta defeat lowly St George Illawarra on Sunday, Souths could finish the weekend outside the top eight.
The predicament has left Demetriou to rally his playing group.
"We've got to make a decision and make it quick about what this season means to us," Demetriou said.
"We're saying the right things but we're not putting it out on the field, not consistently.
"We've got to be honest with ourselves, our staff, players and get it right, and get it right starting next week."
Souths' draw will work in their favour as they hope to lock up a sixth consecutive finals campaign - the Rabbitohs have a bye in the final four weeks of the premiership and play only one more current top-eight side.
Demetriou was also heartened by the Rabbitohs' ability to claw back from 26-0 to 26-16 against the Sharks.
"I felt like we've showed some signs that we're heading in the right direction," he said.
"(But) we lacked any smarts in the last eight minutes to give ourselves any chance."
