A number of young Sharks will get their chance to impress - and be part of history - in Cronulla's first NRL trial of the pre-season on Saturday night.
Cronulla will take on Canterbury in the first NRL trial match to be played in Papua New Guinea, with the Sharks and Bulldogs to meet in Port Moresby.
The Sharks will send a young squad to PNG and, with two roster spots still available that must be filled before round one and bench spots still up for grabs for the NRL season opener against South Sydney, a number of players will be looking to make the most of the opportunity.
It is a big couple of weeks for Billy Magoulias and Toby Rudolph who enjoyed outstanding seasons for Newtown last year. The pair will be keen to see their names in the 17 to play the Rabbitohs and the PNG trial gives them another chance to impress coach John Morris.
New signings Connor Tracey and Cameron King will also look to prove their worth as potential utility options that can cover in the halves or at hooker, with starting No.9 Blayke Brailey yet to play 80 minutes in an NRL match.
Then there is Siosifa Talakai and Royce Hunt who are on train and trial contracts and essentially playing for their futures.
Hunt, a prop, has one NRL appearance to his name for Canberra in 2017. While Talakai played 11 NRL games for Souths in 2016 and '17 and can play second row or centre having featured most recently for Newtown.
Other players with NRL experience in the squad include Scott Sorensen, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Sione Katoa and Will Kennedy. There are also a number of development and uncontracted players.
Cronulla have included nine players who were part of their disappointing NRL Nines campaign over the weekend, with the Sharks bundled out in the pool stage.
Morris said the trial would have a number of positives for his young group.
"We'll be sending a really young squad. In saying that we've still got probably got eight or nine of the guys that were over [in Perth] with us in the Nines tournament will be going up to PNG," he said.
"So I'm really looking forward to it. It's a great opportunity to expand our game and go into another country who absolutely love their footy. And the opportunity to build our brand at the Sharks up in PNG.
"So it's going to be a great experience for the boys and a really good game."
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Morris was disappointed the Sharks had failed to get out of their pool in Perth having lost to St George Illawarra before thrashing Canterbury.
But allowing his young players to be involved had given them some good experience heading into the season.
"Obviously disappointing to drop that first game to the Dragons. It's the type of tournament that if you're slow out of the blocks it can be hard to recover and you only get two games in your pool. So that was disappointing but I was really impressed with the way the boys bounced back against the Bulldogs and played some really good footy," he said.
"We gave some young guys a game and watching that game with Parra and the Dragons with two-and-a-half minutes to go we were heading off to the finals series [but] it wasn't to be. It was a good experience for the youngsters. We came away unscathed and that's the most important thing.
"I sent a pretty experienced side as well but a lot of those guys had really good pre-seasons. And you really don't want to risk anyone. So I sent a healthy squad but it's really important that you come out of it healthy as well. It was really good to be sending home 18 healthy guys and a few of these guys will back up next week to go to PNG. So it's a busy schedule for us in pre-season but it's one we enjoy because we know the season isn't far away.
"I was really impressed with them again. That's why I put them in the squad. I had a plan to make sure everyone got a game so that's why I was a little bit disappointed we dropped the first one. But I had full faith and belief in these young guys to come in and do a job. And Braydon Trindall, Teig Wilton and Toby Rudolph I thought they all did really well. That's what this competition is about. It's a good opportunity to blood a few of the youngsters and they'll be much better for the experience and take that into the pre-season. Hopefully they push for an NRL position for round one."
The Sharks-Bulldogs trial match is part of a program that will see trial matches played in Pacific nations for the next three years.
NRL trial Sharks squad:
Billy Magoulias, William Kennedy, Brock Gray, Jonaiah Lualua, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Franklin Pele, Jackson Ferris, Teig Wilton, Royce Hunt, Kyle Paterson, Tom Hazelton, Connor Tracey, Cameron King, Sione Katoa, Wesley Lolo, Vito Tevaga, Lorenzo Mulitalo, Kayleb Milne, Braydon Trindall, Scott Sorensen, Siosifa Talakai, Tobias Rudolf, Connor Luhan
