Cronulla take on the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night knowing a repeat of their scrappy form from last week's 26-16 elimination of North Queensland won't be good enough.
The Roosters are backing up from a sapping 19-12 loss to Penrith and are facing a fifth-straight loss for the first time since 2016.
But Sharks enforcer Addin Fonua-Blake says it would be foolish to think James Tedesco's Tricolours will be anything but ready to rebound.
"That was two quality teams, two top-four teams going at it and that's what you'd expect. So if we're going to give ourselves any chance, we're going to have to play the same quality that they played," Fonua-Blake told AAP.
Cronulla limped into the finals on the back of four defeats in five games, all to lowly sides who missed the play-offs.
But Fonua-Blake insists there were mitigating circumstances, not the least the absence of star playmaker Braydon Trindall with a dislocated shoulder, and that the Sharks have another gear in them.
"I feel like we hit our straps, but then we lost a couple of games on the trot. It's not ideal, but it's sort of a kick in the teeth that we needed," said the NSW State of Origin prop.
"Leading into that Melbourne game, we got a bit of our identity back in defence and then, last weekend, I thought we defended pretty well.
"But we're going to have to step it up again to try and match our quality team in the Roosters."
Cronulla co-captain Blayke Brailey is happy for the Sharks to be written off.
"I don't think people will give us much of a shot in this final series and probably expect us to lose this weekend, so we can't control that," Brailey told AAP.
"All I can do is control how we prepare, and play and I'm happy to take the underdog tag. I think we've got another level in us and hopefully that does come out on the weekend.
"And we will have to go to another level again because the Roosters are a great side and they're not going to give us anything in the game with easy points or field positions, so we're going to have to work hard."
With classy half Sam Walker still sidelined with an ankle injury, the pressure is on veteran Daly Cherry-Evans to deliver for the Roosters after the 37-year-old came under fire for failing to ice last Sunday's epic against the Panthers.
Fonua-Blake is wary.
"That bloke can kick a field goal with his left, with his right," he said.
"He's not going to get them all. He's only human, but the criticism that he cops, he's pretty good at flushing it all out and getting about his business next week.
"He knows how to steer a team around."
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