Holmes in eye of Storm for final

MELBOURNE is 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 is well aware of the threat he will pose in the 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 tackle 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.

“He’s had a fantastic year, scoring plenty of tries and his involvement is something that has im- proved over the past 12 months,” Slater told Channel 9’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.”

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 because of a suspension for a crusher tackle, while Nelson AsofaSolomona is tipped to come back from an ankle sprain.

Cronulla expects Luke Lewis to play after suffering a leg cork in its major semifinal win over Penrith while Josh Dugan is racing the clock, along with Gallen, with a shoulder injury.