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.
Team news
Storm: Tom Eisenhuth and Tyran Wishart have been added to the bench on Saturday with Bronson Garlick and Aaron Pene dropping out. Centre Justin Olam failed a HIA against the Cowboys and will miss the match, his place taken by Grant Anderson. Veteran Tariq Sims joins the 17 on the bench.
Sharks: No changes in Saturday's 24-hour update. Bench forward Cameron McInnes has been named to return from a hand injury so Thomas Hazelton goes back to the reserves in the only change to the side that lost to the Broncos. Blayke Brailey, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Braden Hamlin-Uele were all charged by the Match Review Committee but accepted fines and are good to go.
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Story first published by: NRL.com