As round four of the NRL season begins on Thursday night with the Cowboys hosting the Panthers, here is a look at two of the biggest games of the round.
In a rematch of the 2016 grand final that saw Cronulla break their long-standing premiership drought, the Sharks will host the Storm on Friday night at Southern Cross Group Stadium.
Both sides have already faltered so far this season, as the Sharks took until round three to claim their first win, beating a Parramatta side who are yet to get off the mark themselves.
The 14-4 win was convincing, but they’ll be facing a different beast this weekend when the Storm come to town.
The reigning premiers bounced back strongly after a loss to the Tigers in round two, comfortably taking care of the Cowboys in a rematch of the 2017 grand final, which the Storm prevailed in.
Melbourne will be looking for a repeat of last week’s performance, which should be good enough to see off the Sharks, although Cronulla will be out to string together back-to-back wins after breaking their duck last week.
The Storm will likely be favoured despite playing away from home and should be good enough to get the points.
In round four’s other big clash, the Sydney Roosters will face the undefeated New Zealand Warriors at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
The Warriors have shot out of the blocks to win the first three games of the season and completed a brilliant comeback against the Raiders last weekend.
Trailing by one point with under two minutes to play, Shaun Johnson kicked a field goal to level up the score, before the Warriors marched up the field from the kick-off, allowing Johnson to kick another drop goal to win the game.
The Roosters began their season with a tight loss to the Tigers, but have since put their foot on the pedal, with big wins over the Bulldogs and Knights.
Sydney are beginning to gel together, as off-season recruits James Tedesco and Cooper Cronk are starting to show their worth.
Cronk will come up against former teammate Blake Green in the halves, with that battle likely to decide the outcome.
If the Warriors can come away with the points, they’ll certify themselves as genuine contenders in 2018.
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