Rudolf told The Roar at the Sharks’ midweek media sesson on Tuesday that he had overcome his knee injury and would suit up for the clash with the Cowboys.
Fellow forward Dale Finucane was on light duties at training while fullback Will Kennedy is also yet to be locked in for a return from his ankle problem.
Centre Siosifa Talakai is also in doubt for the start of the finals after aggravating an old an ankle injury late in the win over the Knights. Scans are set to determine when he might return to the field.
Finucane suffered a rib injury in the Sharks’ Round 23 defeat of Manly, while prop Rudolf left the field against the Wests Tigers in round 22 with a knee complaint.
Kennedy has spent the past five weeks recovering from an ankle injury suffered in a hip-drop tackle against South Sydney.
Roosters centre Joey Manu is out of Sunday’s showdown with Souths after scans revealed he suffered a calf strain in the Round 25 win over the same opponents.
Manu will miss 2-3 weeks in another blow for the Roosters who will be without prop Lindsay Collins (suspended) for the playoffs unless they make the Grand Final.
Veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (hamstring, arm) and hooker Sam Verrills (hand) are also under an injury cloud despite being cleared of serious damage and will undergo “intensive rehabilitation this week” in a bid to play.
Daniel Tupou (groin) and Joseph Suaalii (shoulder) are likely to play after resuming training later in the week to prove their fitness by Sunday.
Victor Radley has completed the NRL’s HIA protocols and will resume full-contact training after sitting out the win over the Rabbitohs.
“He’s obviously disappointed,” skipper James Tedesco told AAP at the NRL finals launch when asked about Manu. “They’re saying three to four (weeks). So it’s going to be touch and go.
“But we’ve spoke about it; no matter who’s in our team, we’ve showed our depth over the past couple of years. Whoever comes into our team is going to do a good job for us. We’ve got all the confidence in the world on that.”
Cameron Murray is on track to play in Sunday’s elimination final against the Sydney Roosters with the South Sydney star to return training on Tuesday after his concussion.
Murray lasted just 19 seconds in last week’s Allianz Stadium opener, taken from the field and immediately ruled out after he got his head in a bad spot when attempting a tackle.
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He has not trained since, but declared on Monday morning he was now symptom free and will therefore be able to perform light duties on Tuesday.
All going well, the Rabbitohs captain expects to get back to proper training on Thursday, before receiving clearance to feature in Sunday’s do-or-die rematch at Moore Park.
“I feel good. I’ve had a couple days to chill out now so I feel good today,” Murray told AAP on Monday. “The long turnaround helps. There’s not much you can do with these types of things. There’s a lot out of your control.
Cameron Murray (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“So you just got to hope and pray that you feel alright. I’ve just been manifesting, trying to believe it into reality.
“The last few days wasn’t the best, just a little bit stressful.
“You start to overthink stuff. But at the end of the day I feel like next week when I look back at this, it’s two days not worth stressing about.
“You shouldn’t stress the small stuff. It’s hard to avoid sometimes, but I am out of the house today, I feel good. Training tomorrow so should be alright.”
Teams will officially be announced at 4pm (AEST) on Tuesday.
Friday
First Qualifying Final: (1) Panthers vs (4) Eels, 7.50pm at BlueBet Stadium
Panthers: Nathan Cleary will return from his five-game spear tackle suspension while Ivan Cleary will bring back a dozen first-graders who were rested for the Round 25 trip to Townsville.
Api Koroisau (ankle) and Spencer Leniu (shoulder) have minor injuries but are both all but certain to be available for Friday’s showdown. Penrith forward J’maine Hopgood, who probably won’t be in the game-day 17, was fined $1000 for a grade-one dangerous throw on North Queensland forward Tom Gilbert.
Eels: Parramatta will be gunning to show the rest of the competition they are a premiership threat and after consistently failing to fire come finals time.
Brad Arthur has no injury concerns as he looks to lower Penrith’s colours for the third time this season. The Eels are the only side to have beaten the Panthers twice this year and will be confident they can repeat the act on Friday after swatting Melbourne aside last week.
Saturday
First Elimination Final: (5) Storm vs (8) Raiders, 5.40pm at AAMI Park
Storm: There are question marks over the fitness of Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes (calf) and Craig Bellamy will need to see more from his pack against Josh Papalii and Joe Tapine after the Storm were outgunned by Parramatta last week.
Raiders: Canberra have Brisbane’s late-season collapse to thank for their rise into the eight along with a 7-1 record at the back end of the season. Ricky Stuart’s men will be confident that they can advance given their record in Melbourne since the start of 2019 reads: played four, won four. Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead return to the team after being rested for the win over Wests Tigers.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Second Qualifying Final: (2) Sharks vs (3) Cowboys, 7.50pm at PointsBet Stadium
Sharks: Rookie coach Craig Fitzgibbon has guided the Sharks to their highest finish since 1999 and will believe they can advance to a preliminary final. The Sharks have only lost at their home ground once all year.
Toby Rudolf (knee) will be back from injury but Fitzgibbon is unsure whether fullback Will Kennedy (ankle) and lock Dale Finucane (rib) will join him. A decision on whether Siosifa Talakai (ankle) will play probably won’t be made until late in the week.
Cowboys: North Queensland have enjoyed an incredible revival under Todd Payten in 2022 and the Cowboys will lean heavily on the experience of ex-Cronulla halfback Chad Townsend to get them over the line.
Sunday
Second Elimination Final: (6) Roosters vs (7) Rabbitohs, 4.05pm at Allianz Stadium
Roosters: A rematch of the round 25 clash between these two sides looms as a blockbuster end to week one of the finals. The Roosters got the win in the first tussle at the rebuilt Allianz Stadium but Joey Manu is out and there are concerns over the fitness of Sam Verrills, Victor Radley, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Joseph Suaalii and Daniel Tupou.
Rabbitohs: Souths also have a question mark over Cameron Murray after his latest concussion and were blown away by the Roosters in the opening half an hour last Friday.
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