VENUE & TIME: Mt Smart Stadium, Saturday March 18, 5.30pm (AEDT).
COVERAGE: Fox Sports
LAST TIME: Sharks 18 - Warriors 10 at Mt Smart Stadium, Round 2, 2010.
MATCH ODDS: Luxbet: Warriors $1.47, Sharks $2.70
WALKING WOUNDED: Steve Price (heel) and Jacob Lillyman (foot) are both missing for the Warriors but the home side does regain Simon Mannering. Ian Henderson (knee), Isaac John (foot), Elijah Taylor (knee) and Sione Lousi (leg) are also unavailable.
The Sharks expect to welcome back Dean Collis (knee) next week but Jayson Bukuya (shoulder) won't be back before Round 10 and Johnny Mannah remains on the sidelines indefinitely as he battles illness.
FORM: The Warriors impressed in the first half in their trip to the Gold Coast but failed to score after the break as the Titans rallied to win 24-18 while the Sharks were perhaps flattered by the scoreboard as they eventually succumbed 14-10 to the Storm in a game that the reigning premiers dominated for long stretches.
WHO'S HOT: The Warriors are expecting big things from winger Kevin Locke, who scored a try last week in the strong start against the Titans, while Lance Hohaia was also impressive, carting the ball forward 172m from 16 carries.
For the Sharks, Scott Porter showed plenty of guts to play fewer than 24 hours after hearing of the sudden death of his sister, her tragic loss coming just months after the halfback also lost his mother. We also take our hat off to Luke Douglas who is playing his 100th consecutive game in the forwards.
WE THINK: With Micheal Luck playing his 100th match, Mannering back for his first as captain and the team playing at home for the first time this season, the Warriors will fancy their chances of an eighth win over the Sharks from 12 starts. However, the longer the visitors stay in the game, the more dangerous they become. They are a side that never goes away and if their performance against the Storm is anything to go on they will be far more competitive this year. Paul Gallen is a key, if the Warriors' young pack can muscle up and shut Gallen down they will be well on the way to registering their first win of 2010. Warriors by 4.
TEAMS
Warriors:
1. Lance Hohaia, 2. Kevin Locke, 3. Brent Tate, 4. Jerome Ropati, 5. Manu Vatuvei, 6. James Maloney, 7. Brett Seymour, 8. Sam Rapira, 9. Aaron Heremaia, 10. Russell Packer, 11. Lewis Brown, 12. Simon Mannering (c), 13. Michael Luck
Interchange: 14. Wade McKinnon, 15. Jeremy Latimore, 16. Jesse Royal, 17. Ben Matulino, 18. Joel Moon
Sharks:
1. Nathan Stapleton, 2. Isaac Gordon, 3. Ben Pomeroy, 4. Blake Ferguson, 5. Luke Covell, 6. Trent Barrett, 7. Scott Porter, 8. Kade Snowden, 9. John Morris, 10. Luke Douglas, 11. Grant Millington, 12. Anthony Tupou, 13. Paul Gallen
Interchange: 14. Adam Cuthbertson, 15. Josh Cordoba, 16. Albert Kelly, 17. Paul Aiton, 18. Broderick Wright