Andrew Fifita and Valentine Holmes will be given time away from Cronulla training this week as coach Shane Flanagan tries to keep his Origin stars fresh before the finals.
James Maloney and Jack Bird were given the best part of a week off after NSW's series-deciding loss to Queensland last week.
Maloney looked refreshed as he set up three tries in his return match against South Sydney on Friday, while Bird missed the win with a sternum injury sustained in the previous week's loss to the Gold Coast.
But Flanagan said the injury wasn't too serious.
"There's no fracture or anything," he said.
"But they're pretty nasty, sternums, so it was an opportunity, especially off the back of Origin.
"He turned up tonight but we basically haven't seen him since the Gold Coast so he's had a good break now.
"He should be (back for next game), we'll give him a big cuddle."
Forward Wade Graham has also been managed after the Origin series, allowing Flanagan to now give that same luxury to Fifita and Holmes as they look to let their bodies recover.
"I've just got to square Andrew up with a couple of days off and Val and we're back to square one with all those players," Flanagan said.
"Hopefully it helps us in the back end."
Fifita showed signs of his destructive best on Friday night, as he ran more than 90 metres in the first half and busted three tackles before a quieter second term.
The Sharks got through the Origin period with a 3-3 record, but big losses to the Gold Coast and Manly have put them at risk of missing the top four, and a second bite at the cherry come finals time.
Flanagan has put much of that down to a disrupted training program. Fullback Holmes and chief playmaker Maloney have barely spent any time with the team in the past two months.
But he was hopeful their attack would now become far more cohesive in the run to the finals.
"There was a couple of opportunities to score (against Souths) that we didn't because the pass wasn't on the money," Flanagan said.
"Now that all the Origin boys are back we can get some consistency in our training, I'd like to think those type of things aren't as frequent."
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