After a week of drama the Dragons dished up an insipid performance against the Warriors while the Sharks had their feet up enjoying a bye.
The Dragons find themselves in danger of collecting the first wooden spoon in the history of the joint venture and need a huge lift in defensive intensity if they hope to contain a potent Sharks unit that averages 26.3 points per game.
After showing signs of improvement in wins over the Roosters and Rabbitohs and a close loss to Penrith, the Red V gave up their biggest score of the season on Friday night and will be doing plenty of soul-searching ahead of a clash against a side that put 40 points on them in Round 4.
A number of Dragons players will be looking to stand up and show incoming coach Shane Flanagan that they have what it takes to be part of a new era at the club.
The Sharks, meanwhile, sit comfortably in fourth position and face only one team above them in the run to the finals, a Round 22 blockbuster against reigning champs Penrith.
With Will Kennedy and Ronaldo Mulitalo boasting 25 tries between them and Nicho Hynes and Siosifa Talakai combining for 23 try assists, the Sharks have the attacking weapons to expose any weakness in the Dragons' defence.
In front of a boisterous home crowd on the Sharks have the opportunity to rack up a big score against an opponent down on confidence and grappling with captain Ben Hunt's request for a release.
Team News
Sharks: Coming off the bye the Sharks will field the same 17 that took care of the Bulldogs 48-10 in Round 16. Big man Toby Rudolf had been listed among the reserves as he nears a return from the foot injury that has sidelined him since Round 5 but he dropped out of the extended squad on Wednesday.
Dragons: Centre Moses Suli miss the game after suffering a head knock against the Warriors. His place is taken by Tautau Moga, who makes his third appearance of the season. Ben Murdoch-Masila moves from the bench into the starting side and Jack Bird is out with a knee injury. Zane Musgrove has been omitted. The new faces on the bench are Toby Couchman and Jaiyden Hunt. No changes in Wednesday's 24-hour update.
Stat Attack
- Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo is second in the NRL for line breaks with 21. The Dragons' top line breaker is Mikaele Ravalawa with 12.
- The Sharks have won their past six clashes against the Dragons.
- The Dragons have not won at PointsBet Stadium since 2018.
- Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo has scored 20 tries in 20 games at PointsBet Stadium.
- Dragons forward Ben Murdoch-Masila will play his 100th NRL game.
- Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey will make his 100th NRL appearance
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.
Story first published on NRL.com