Retiring superstar Billy Slater poses in front of graffiti mural of himself at Richmond Station

The fairytale would be to bow out repeating the feat, with the team coming first for the Test and Queensland fullback.“The beauty of my situation is that the position that we’re in is far bigger than myself,” Slater said.“If we play well we’ll give ourselves the chance to play in a grand final and that’s what we’ve all been working really hard for, for the last 11 months.“Either way it’s my last game in Melbourne so it’s pretty special.”The match pits possibly the game’s greatest ever fullback against Sharks custodian Valentine Holmes, the
form player in the competition.Slater said the Storm radar was pointed right at Holmes who can both set up attacks and be a damaging runner in his own right.With a dominant recent record between the sides, Cronulla had a three-point win at AAMI Park in their round 22 meeting and Slater predicted another thriller.“The 80 minutes on Friday night means everything, not what’s happened in the last few games,” Slater said.“I don’t think there’s a whole heap between the two teams. Both have great, aggressive forward packs, creative halves and skill out wide to finish off tries so whoever plays the best will find themselves in the grand final.”