The Sea Eagles will pin their hopes on Tom Trbojevic returning from injury against Canterbury in week one of the finals after suffering a crushing 40-20 defeat to Cronulla on Sunday.
Manly badly missed the strike power and organisation of their star fullback, who was sidelined for Sunday’s game after picking up a grade three AC shoulder injury against the Bulldogs two weeks ago.
Cronulla’s Jesse Ramien collects Karl Lawton high and sparks a melee.
The Sea eagles have indicated Trbojevic should be fit to play against the Bulldogs in an elimination final at Accor Stadium.
Sunday’s victory was the perfect warm-up Cronulla, who now face the formidable task of trying to beat the Storm in Melbourne. The Sharks and the Dragons are the only teams to have beaten Melbourne on their home turf this year.
Sunday’s game against Manly was just the second time Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon had his preferred halves pairing of Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall on the field in two months, after both players spent lengthy stints on the sideline.
The two orchestrated a convincing victory in front of 17,384 fans, with Trindall pulling the strings in an impressive Cronulla attack.
Daniel Atkinson – who covered in the halves while Hynes and Trindall were sidelined – proved himself a handy utility, picking up a try after half-time with his first touch of the game.
The Sharks were not without their own worries however, after forward Teig Wilton was put on report for a hip-drop tackle and cult hero Tom Hazelton went off in the second half with a knee injury.
Cronulla centre Jesse Ramien also faces a nervous wait for a high tackle on Karl Lawton, for which he narrowly avoided being sent to the sin bin, and also has his own injury concerns after heading up the tunnel with an ankle knock just eight minutes shy of full-time.
Manly were a far cry from the team that embarrassed the Bulldogs two weeks ago, with nine errors and just 45 per cent possession for the match. They especially missed Trbojevic’s game-breaking ability as they struggled to find a way through the Cronulla line.
After an even first half, the home side conceded a try just before half-time to give Cronulla the lead at the break, but the Shark were by far the better team in the second period.
Haumole Olakau’atu burst through for a try to cut the deficit to just 14 points, but Cronulla’s attack found another gear and ran away with the match.
