Cronulla skipper Cameron McInnes has declared the fastest way for his side to silence their doubters is to make a statement in Melbourne in the opening week of the NRL finals.
The Sharks will open their post-season at AAMI Park against the Storm on Saturday afternoon.
Cronulla have qualified for the finals in each of the past two years but have failed to record a victory in either season, leading many to wonder if they are a genuine premiership contender.
Coach Craig Fitzgibbon lamented the lack of respect for the side after Sunday's victory over Manly and McInnes said his team is ready to silence the doubters this weekend.
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"I'm not an emotional person," McInnes said. "I don't care a great deal about other people's opinions.
"I can't speak on behalf of everybody but with this playing group, the thing we care about most is getting each other's respect. That's not a cliche, when we play on the field, every one of us wants to come off the field knowing everyone's saying 'he had a good crack today'.
"I don't hear much [external noise] anyway and at the end of the day, you win games, you win the competition and that noise goes away."
Match: Storm v Sharks
Finals Week 1 -
home Team
Storm
1st Position
away Team
Sharks
4th Position
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
The Sharks flew out of the gates this season, winning nine of their first ten games to soar to the top of the table. The stretch included a 25-18 win over the Storm in Melbourne in a game starting halves Nicho Hynes and Braydon Trindall both missed.
A string of injuries contributed to a mid-season form slump before Cronulla recovered to win five of their past six matches to end the regular season.
The Sharks then delivered a major statement with an impressive 40-20 win over Manly at 4 Pines Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was a complete performance from the side, with Hynes orchestrating the win off the back of a dominant forward pack.
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The bulk of the current Cronulla squad has spent the past few years developing together and McInnes is confident they're ready to go to another level in Melbourne.
"When we're playing together as a team, all of that comes out," he said. "Everybody has their own unique skillsets that they bring to the team and credit to our coaches for putting us into that position and building a gameplan that suits us.
"Then it's about using each other to bring out those talents we all have. When we play our best we see that.
"That's the challenge this week in a higher intensity game against a quality opposition that knows how to win big games, to try and bring that out on the biggest stage."
Sunday's win secured fourth place on the ladder and a second chance in the finals if they do lose this weekend.
Recent history is against Cronulla, after they failed to win a post-season game in 2022 despite finishing second in coach Craig Fitzgibbon's first year in charge.
The Roosters then stunned the Sharks at PointsBet Stadium in an elimination final last year, leaving the players to process a disappointing exit and fierce external criticism.
Sharks v Roosters – Finals Week 1, 2023
McInnes learnt to steer clear of social media earlier in his career and while he's eager to change the external perception, said the negativity won't be fuelling him throughout the next month.
"I can only speak for myself but that's a very negative way to live your life," he said. "I don't worry too much about what people who don't have control over what happens are saying.
"For some guys, they might use it as fuel. If you're going to use it as your fuel, channel it in the right way. We can get respect or we don't get respect, if you perform well and win games, then at some point people have to acknowledge that."
