Forward to decide NRL final: Paul Gallen

A James Tedesco-Valentine Holmes showdown will be a drawcard but Paul Gallen says the forwards will decide Cronulla's NRL final against the Sydney Roosters.

Paul Gallen of the Sharks looks on during a match against Canterbury.

Cronulla's Paul Gallen says their forwards can nullify the Sydney Roosters' in their NRL qualifier. (AAP)

Gallen expects a tough game against star-studded minor premiers the Sydney Roosters but is confident the Sharks will prevail by winning the battle in the middle.

He believes his side can neutralise James Tedesco and Cooper Cronk by dominating with their forward pack in Saturday night's NRL qualifying final.

The winner of the Allianz Stadium encounter earns a week off and a path straight to the grand final qualifier.

And while the showdown between Tedesco and Sharks star Valentine Holmes will be worth the price of admission alone, Gallen predicts the forward battle will be key.

"They've got all the names in their side," Gallen said.

"We've just got to turn up and do our job. At the end of the day, whoever wins that battle in the middle can eliminate some or either one of what them two blokes can do.

"It's going to be a big challenge for us coming up against a star-studded team."

Sharks coach Shane Flanagan agrees, pointing to how the Roosters forwards ran roughshod over Parramatta on Saturday night despite the absence of chief enforcer Dylan Napa.

He said it was the best method to neutralise their attacking threats, including Luke Keary.

"Obviously they're without Napa but they've got some powerful forwards that created a platform for Keary and Cronk to just get over the ad line and play their shapes," Flanagan said.

"We need to be able to make sure that we're winning that battle in the middle part of the field and we're going forward defensively so they haven't got all the time that they had last night."

Flanagan hinted at giving star prop Andrew Fifita more than the 52 minutes he played in Sunday's win over Canterbury, in which he scored a try, carried the ball for 119m and offloaded four times.

"Andrew was definitely one of those players who knew that next week is the big show. It's hard for him. He wanted to get through and we just limited his minutes," he said.

"Definitely it was a plan to share the whole minutes (today), where next week it'll be back to my plan that you do your job and I'll worry about them minutes."

Flanagan also confirmed Ricky Leutele and Jesse Ramien are likely to return from injury.


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Source: AAP



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