Two proud clubs well-placed in the top eight and with plenty of history lock horns at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon after both recorded lacklustre performances in Round 14 coming off a bye.
The Storm conceded an uncharacteristic 45 points to the Cowboys in Townsville to continue their inconsistent season while the Sharks were beaten by a classy Broncos outfit on home turf.
Both sides have shared a period of dominance against each other since the 2016 grand final with Cronulla winning five of their next eight before Melbourne returned serve, winning five of the last six between the two clubs.
It shapes as a big game for Nicho Hynes, who will line up against his former club at AAMI Park for the second time but more importantly, with the hamstring injury to Nathan Cleary, he could be playing for a starting spot in Origin II.
Sportsbet Betting Preview - Storm v Sharks
Team news
Storm: Marion Seve starts at centre as replacement for Justin Olam (concussion), with Grant Anderson dropping out after initially being named to play there. Tom Eisenhuth and Tyran Wishart join the bench in favour of Bronson Garlick and Aaron Pene.
Sharks: Cronulla will take the field with the same 17 named mid-week, but with one slight positional switch that sees Braden Hamlin-Uele start at prop and Oregon Kaufusi reverting to the bench. Cameron McInnes returns from a hand injury on the interchange.
This article contains content that is only available on pan66.com
Stat Attack
- Nicho Hynes has engaged the line 107 times so far this season, second only to Nathan Cleary (126), the man he is line to replace in the Blues side for Origin II.
- Centre Siosifa Talakai leads the Sharks for try assists with 11, one more than chief playmaker Nicho Hynes with 10.
- The Storm have won five of their past six games against the Sharks.
- The Sharks have not won at AAMI Park since 2018.
- Storm winger Xavier Coates has scored 16 tries in 14 games at AAMI Park.
- Sharks fullback William Kennedy has scored 12 tries in his past 11 games.
- Storm fullback Nick Meaney will make his 100th NRL appearance
This article contains content that is only available on pan66.com
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the