Two heavyweights of the competition open round 11 in a blockbuster on Thursday night.

Despite sitting second on the ladder with a 7-3 record, the Sharks will be out to give their home fans some joy having lost three of their first four games at Shark Park in 2017.

After a pair of unconvincing wins over the Dragons and Tigers, the reigning premiers will welcome the return of prop Chris Heighington to take on the recently re-signed John Asiata in the middle of the park.

The Cowboys scored an impressive win last week over the Bulldogs with the return of Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville giving them a much-needed boost. Undoubtedly, the battle of the bigs will decide much of the game, with Jason Taumalolo, Ethan Low and Gavin Cooper needing to quieten the influence of Paul Gallen, Wade Graham and Andrew Fifita if they're to have a chance at breaking down Cronulla's stingy defence.

Cronulla are strong favourites heading into this match up but with the Cowboys riding a wave of confidence without JT, we'll back them to sneak over the line and continue the Sharks' poor home run.

Cowboys by 2.