WE’VE always known they are fierce enemies on the field.

But ladder leaders Cronulla have taken their rivalry with St George Illawarra to a new level by attacking them on social media during Monday night’s embarrassing loss to Manly.

While the Dragons were copping abuse from some of their own frustrated fans during the 36-6 flogging at Brookvale Oval, an employee at Cronulla chipped in with this below-the-belt attack that came via the Cronulla Sharks FC official Twitter account.

Having a direct crack at both teams, it read: “The Dragons are absolutely (s***). I ­thoroughly enjoy watching their clueless attack, and turnstile defence.

“They even made Manly look good.”

Understandably, the Dragons were not amused by the comment when contacted by The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

“We are aware of it,” a spokesman said. “It was a bit surprising.

“If it happened at our ­organisation it would contravene our social media policy for employees.”

When contacted, the Sharks were quick to apologise.

They explained that while the comment was deleted almost immediately it was still unacceptable and the employee had expressed their “embarrassment” and “regret”.

“We have become aware of the impact of an inappropriate tweet by one of our staff ­members in relation to an NRL match on Monday night,” a spokesman said.

“While the tweet was removed within a very short period of time and mistakenly sent from our official platform instead of a private account, our club in no way condones its content.

“The matter has been addressed with the staff member, who has expressed his regret and embarrassment and extended his personal apologies to the club involved.”

The Dragons have also defended their decision to block five so-called “fans” for abusive and offensive tweets directed at the club.

While that decision has upset some, who say the club needs to have a thicker skin, a Dragons spokesman explained that there has to be a line in the sand in respect to any attacks made on social media.

“Everyone associated with the Dragons was disappointed with the performance on Monday night,” a spokesman said.

“We know our fans are passionate and we are happy for them to engage and share their thoughts, except when it turns to personal abuse and profanity.

“We understand and embrace the nature of social media. Many fans vented their frustration via Twitter.

“However, five people in our opinion took it too far and we chose to block them, which has upset some fans who think it is OK. But that is our ­position and we don’t believe it unreasonable or unique to our organisation.”