After winning last weekend minus their Origin stars, the Panthers return home to BlueBet Stadium with their big guns back onboard as they hunt a ninth-straight win.
With seven rounds of the regular season remaining Penrith find themselves eight points clear at the top of the ladder, while the Sharks have climbed to third after beating the Cowboys last up.
Cronulla are riding a five-game winning streak and will be full of confidence, while Penrith should benefit from refreshing a number of their top line stars last weekend ahead.
The last time they met in Round 14 last year it was Cronulla who came away with a late 19-18 victory, but prior to that the Panthers won the past four head-to-head clashes.
The Rundown
Team news
Panthers: All seven of the Origin players rested last week are back and named to start, which means there’s no room for Lindsay Smith, Soni Luke, Kurt Falls or Robert Jennings. Moses Leota was a late withdrawal in the 24-hour update, however, with Matt Eisenhuth moving to the run-on side and Spencer Leniu joining the bench alongside Mitch Kenny, Scott Sorensen and Jaeman Salmon.
Sharks: Siosifa Talakai is back in the centres after being a late withdrawal last week due to a shoulder injury picked up in the Origin decider. Connor Tracey shifts to the wing in place of Sione Katoa, who will miss the remainder of the season following shoulder surgery. Briton Nikora's return from suspension sees Teig Wilton revert to the bench. There were no late changes to the side named earlier in the week in the 24-hour update with Braydon Trindall set to feature as 18th Man.
Key match-up
Nathan Cleary vs Nicho Hynes: The current Blues No.7 against the heir apparent who shadowed him in Origin camp this year. Cleary will no doubt be eyeing a big performance to shake off the disappointment of losing the Origin decider, while Hynes has led the Sharks to victories in his last four games. Cleary has 13 try assists in 12 appearances this year, while his opposite number this week leads the NRL in line break assists with 17.
Stat Attack
So impressive has Penrith's attack been in 2022, last week's 18-16 victory over the Wests Tigers, minus most of their representative stars, was actually their equal-worst performance of the season in terms of points scored. The Panthers average an NRL-leading 29 points per game this year, but come up against a Sharks outfit who haven't leaked more than 16 points since the end of May.
Source: NRL.com