As if last place on the NRL ladder isn't motivation enough, Cronulla halfback Brett Seymour claims the Sharks owe it to coach Ricky Stuart to turn the club's NRL season around.

Stuart has borne the brunt of criticism following the Sharks' dismal start to the season, most notably for Cronulla's mis-firing attack which is showing no signs of improvement despite an off-season facelift.

Heading into Friday night's clash with South Sydney at ANZ Stadium the Sharks are averaging just 12 points a game. Seymour puts the blame with the players and not their under-siege coach.

"It's a lot of stress for the poor bloke, we're putting him under a lot of pressure," Seymour said of Stuart.

"I know he's doing his best for us week-in and week-out - we've just got to repay his faith by putting some performances on the board for him.

"We don't have to (necessarily) go out there and win, we just have to go out there and play some good footy and the result will take care of itself."

A win would no doubt ease the pressure on Stuart, with his former coaching mentor Phil Gould suggesting this week the Sharks coach needed help to get the club out of their hole.

Given the now-strained relationship between Stuart and Gould, the advice would hardly have been received with welcome arms.

Stuart's ability to get more points out of his side has been hampered by his inability to put the same side on the paddock for consecutive games.

The situation has been particularly dire in the halves, with Seymour and Trent Barrett to line up together this week for just the fourth time.

The pair was behind the eight-ball from the start with Seymour missing all of Cronulla's pre-season as he recovered from a knee injury picked up during last year's finals series.

Seymour was then suspended for rounds two and three due to an off-field incident before Barrett was ruled out of the round four loss to the Bulldogs with a neck injury.

But having played together for the last two games, Seymour said unfamiliarity was no longer an excuse.

"We didn't do too much (in the pre-season), but we've both been around long enough to make it work," Seymour said.

"It's up to us to get the boys going.

"We're creating a lot of opportunities, we're just not finishing, the last pass just isn't finding the mark.

"It takes time obviously, but it has to start (against Souths) or we're going to be in some strife.

"We just want to get into the bye (in round nine) with a bit of confidence and hopefully go forward from there."

The Sharks have been boosted by the return of skipper Paul Gallen from suspension while South Sydney's only concern is over backrower Shannan McPherson.

McPherson, who was named on a six-man bench by coach Jason Taylor on Tuesday, has failed to train so far this week due to a corked knee.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP