Manly coach Des Hasler fears mercurial half-back Tim Smith is ready to transform Cronulla into a potent attacking force ahead of Sunday's clash at Brookvale Oval.
The Sharks have been toothless in attack so far this season having managed a grand total of 45 points in four appearances - the lowest in the NRL.
Smith didn't exactly have the scoreboard attendant working up a sweat in his first appearance for his new club on Saturday night, as the Sharks ground out an 11-0 victory over Parramatta in wet conditions.
But Hasler, who is prone to talking up the opposition in the lead up to a match, fears Smith and the stuttering Cronulla attack are ready to ignite.
"I've been really impressed with their attitude in defence and defensively they're as good as any side going around," Hasler said of the 13th-placed Sharks.
"And what I think is significant is the fact that they're getting a bit of confidence in their attack and the win against Parramatta will only give them that added confidence."
"Bringing in Tim Smith is probably also going to help them a lot, and Cronulla always plays well against Manly so it'll be a pretty hard game."
"We're certainly not taking anything out of the fact that they lost 13 straight. You look at those games and they're not big losses in any sense, so we're not being fooled for one minute that we're not going to play against a committed, hard working Sharks side."
Asked to identify the other main dangers in the Sharks line-up, Hasler predicted Trent Barrett, Anthony Tupou and the in-form Paul Gallen will continue to thrive following Smith's arrival.
The coach also concedes the ability of greenhorn halves Trent Hodkinson and Kieran Foran to match wits with the more experienced Barrett and Smith, will go a long way to deciding the outcome on Sunday.
"For Foran and young Trent it's about getting as much experience and as many games as they possibly can now, and they're coming up against two very experienced halves in Tim Smith and Trent Barrett," he said.
Meanwhile, Sea Eagles full-back Ben Farrar welcomed the chance to return to Brookvale Oval for the first time in 2010.
"It's a great place to play and we haven't played there yet this year," Farrar said.
"It seems like forever since we've been there and everyone's really looking forward to it and putting in a good performance on Sunday."
Farrar says he's adjusting to his new role in the No.1 jersey in the absence of Brett Stewart with a season-ending knee injury.
"I'm enjoying it, there's a bit more room to play with and I'm sort of getting a bit more confident there each week," he said.
He added of his side's form in the opening four rounds: "For the whole season really we've played some pretty good football. In the first couple of games obviously a couple of momentum shifts cost us and the last two weeks have been pretty positive."
"I think we're building nicely and we can take a fair bit of confidence out of the last few weeks."