The Sharks and Knights travel to Coffs Harbour on the back of victories in Round 11 and looking to gather momentum ahead of the Origin period where both will lose key men to rep duty.
Cronulla's star playmaker Nicho Hynes looks certain to be part of Brad Fittler's NSW squad for Game One while Knights pair Kalyn Ponga and Dane Gagai are a lock for Maroons selection, so banking another two competition points on Saturday is critical.
The Sharks exploded out of the blocks against Manly but allowed the home side back into the game in the second term before hanging on to win 20-14 to take their record to 6-4.
The Knights saved their best footy for the second half against the Ttans, running in six tries in the last 30 minutes to register a 46-26 win, their fourth of the season.
The showdown for playmaking supremacy at a sold out C.ex Coffs International Stadium promises to be a beauty between Ponga and Hynes, as does the battle of Newcastle's Saifiti brothers and Cronulla hard men Royce Hunt and Dale Finucane in the middle.
The Sharks won both clashes between the sides last year, shutting out the Knights 18-0 at PointsBet Stadium in Round 4 and running away with a 38-16 victory in Round 25 in Newcastle.
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Team News
Sharks: No further changes on game day after prop Braden Hamlin-Uele was added to the bench on Friday in his return from a medial ligament strain. Braydon Trindall drops out of the squad. Prop Oregon Kaufusi (illness) will return after being a late withdrawal from the clash against Manly. Cameron McInnes played prop in Kaufusi's absence but suffered a broken hand during the match and could miss up to four weeks. Siosifa Talakai (neck) remains sidelined so Connor Tracey holds his spot in the centres.
Knights: The Knights are 1-17 with no late changes. Coach Adam O'Brien sticks with the same squad that got the job done against the Titans. Jack Hetherington shifts from lock to prop in a positional swap with Leo Thompson. Back-rower Adam Elliott got through 35 minutes in his first match since Round 1 and will look to up his game time this week.
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Stat Attack
- The Sharks' back three combined for 483 run metres against Manly last week – one metre more than the Knights' back three contributed against the Titans.
- The Sharks lead the NRL for linebreaks after 11 rounds with 63.
- The Sharks won home and away games against the Knights in 2022.
- The Sharks have won both games played at Coffs Harbour.
- Dominic Young has scored nine tries in his past six NRL games.
- Jesse Ramien has scored six tries in seven games against the Knights.
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Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the