Sharks move to top of ladder ahead of big home game against Cowboys

They will be looking for their fourth win in a row when they take on the Cowboys at PointsBet Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten is looking for an immediate response from his team, who went down to the Eels 27-20 on Saturday night.

The Sharks will be without winger Sione Katoa, who received a one-game suspension after pleading guilty to a Grade Two Careless High Tackle charge.

Coach Craig Fitzgibbon is starting to welcome back his injured troops, with Toby Rudolf returning last weekend and Dale Finucane and Braden Hamlin-Uele in the frame to feature on Sunday.

The Sharks have history on their side. They have won 10 of their past 11 games against the Cowboys and four of their last five games at PointsBet Stadium.

Sharks flyer Ronaldo Mulitalo has scored 30 tries in 27 games at PointsBet Stadium.

Mulitalo was sensational once again against the Rabbitohs, scoring two tries, laying on two others for second-rower Teig Wilton and producing a try saving tackle as Cronulla hung on to beat a brave Souths outfit, who were reduced to 14 players for the entire second half.

Any doubts about the Rabbitohs not playing for under-pressure coach Jason Demetriou were dispelled by the effort and resilience shown by the players after losing captain Cameron Murray, prop Tevita Tatola and winger Tyrone Munro before halftime.

Fitzgibbon said it was "a hard fought and earned victory" by the Sharks.

"The first half, in particular, going to the lead with the amount of goal line D we had to do, that was a strong performance," he said.

"We made it a little bit close, but we were still pretty confident in the way we were playing. We had really limited opportunities, but I thought we looked sharp when we got them."

Fitzgibbon said Mulitalo had been "delivering for most of the year... just his positioning and finishing skills, but also the little details like his back field skills, his sleeves up for his team mates, he's pretty strong all year." He said the Hynes-Trindall combination was getting stronger, but still needed work.