On the contrary, Thurston’s troops are recovering from what the future Immortal describes as the toughest match he has been a part of following last Friday night’s extra-time win over the Broncos.

The two Queensland sides bashed each other to a pulp in what is widely considered one of the greatest finals matches ever played.

It took a gruelling 90 minutes for the defending premier to seal a place in Friday’s preliminary final prompting coach Paul Green to rest his players for most of the week.

The Sharks had no such problem after accounting for Canberra in the opening week of the finals to earn the week off and give their players a chance to overcome the niggles that haunt after a long season.

Thurston said Cronulla’s week off meant his side were readying for an explosive start from the Shire club.

  “… We are going to come up against a Sharks team that’s well-rested," he said.

“They are going to start fast and they are a physical team and that’s the challenge ahead of us.

“It has taken an extra couple of days to recover from it but things are looking up for myself.”

Cronulla captain Paul Gallen is a certain starter after missing the opening week of the finals with a back complaint.

Thurston said Gallen, as always, would lead from the front.

“I have played a lot of football beside G-Train (Gallen) so I know what he brings to the team and what type of character he is away from the football field,” he said.

“When you are playing rep footy, you want him in your team.”

Both sides enjoy formidable defensive records while also blessed with attacking prowess.

Thurston said the result would come down to pouncing on any chance thrown up by the opposition.

“Defensively we’re both strong outfits so both teams don’t leak too many points and they are hard to come by when we play each other," he said.

“There’s only four teams left now so the opportunities you get are few and far between so you need to make sure you take them.”