Melbourne are preparing for Cronulla captain Paul Gallen to recover from a shoulder injury in time for Friday's NRL preliminary final but it's the man in the Sharks' No.1 jersey that most has their attention.
Desperate to do what few others have achieved since State of Origin and silence Valentine Holmes, the Storm are well aware of the threat he'll pose in Friday night's grand-final qualifier.
The Sharks fullback has scored 11 tries in 13 games since moving to fullback in round 14 and has set up another eight, made 21 linebreaks and made more than four tackles busts per game.
Arguably the No.1 fullback in the game over the past three months, the 23-year-old would end the career of Billy Slater - the man he long idolised as a teenager - if the Sharks beat the Storm at AAMI Park.
"He's had a fantastic year, scoring plenty of tries and his involvement is something that has improved over the past 12 months," Slater told Channel Nine's Sunday Footy Show.
"You have to be aware of where any fullback is on the field as they create the extra number and Val Holmes is that for the Sharks.
"We need to be using our voices a bit to start with and making sure we shut him down when he gets the football.
"He's a big guy, he's quite strong and he's super fast. He's had a great season and hopefully we can shut him down on Friday night."
Both the Storm and Sharks will come into the must-win grudge match with key players under injury clouds and others returning just one week out from the grand final.
Kangaroos centre Will Chambers will play his first game in more than a month for Melbourne due to a suspension for a crusher tackle, while Nelson Asofa-Solomona is tipped to come back from an ankle sprain.
Cronulla expect Luke Lewis to play after suffering a leg cork in their major semi-final win over Penrith while Josh Dugan is racing the clock, along with Gallen, with a shoulder injury.
"I've seen Gal first hand and the professionalism he shows. It would not surprise me if he got up for it," Slater said.
"You prepare as if they are going to play and if they don't well then you're prepared for it."
