The battle of the beaches, south vs north, has been raging since 1967 and rarely fails to deliver a quality contest with plenty of drama thrown in.
The Sharks and Sea Eagles met twice in grand finals during the 70s with Manly getting the cash on both occasions, leaving Cronulla to wait until their 50th season in 2016 to claim their first ever title.
In more recent times it's Manly who have had the upper hand thanks to some Tom Trbojevic magic in 2021 and a couple of monster performances by Addin Fonua-Blake in 2019, although the Sharks prevailed in their only meeting in 2020.
Both sides sit 4-2 after six rounds and look to be building nicely into the season.
Sportsbet Betting preview: Sharks v Sea Eagles
The Rundown
Team news
Sharks: The Sharks are 1-17 with no late changes. Cameron McInnes will start at lock, Aiden Tolman comes into the starting side and Royce Hunt joins the bench in a new-look Sharks pack this week. Briton Nikora (COVID protocols) has been named to return and is expected to play. Nicho Hynes takes over as captain with Dale Finucane out.
Sea Eagles: Karl Lawton has been promoted to the starting side an hour before kick-off with Taniela Paseka going to the bench. Tolutau Koula has been added to the bench and Kurt De Luis drops out.
Morgan Harper returns in the centres after his COVID-enforced lay-off. A head knock sidelines Sean Keppie so Ethan Bullemor joins the bench. Prop Martin Taupau (COVID) is still sidelined.
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Key match-up
Nicho Hynes v Daly Cherry-Evans: The kicking game of both No.7s has been on song in the opening six rounds and whoever gets the upper hand in the battle of the boot will go a long way to deciding the winner on Thursday. Hynes has settled beautifully into his new role at halfback after spending most of the past two years at fullback or coming off the bench for the Storm. Cherry-Evans has been masterful by hand and foot, calmly steering Manly around the paddock and driving the standards set by astute mentor Des Hasler.
Stat attack
Ronaldo Mulitalo has been a line breaking machine in 2022, leading the NRL with 10 in five games, while fellow Sharks winger Sione Katoa has chalked up seven line breaks.
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