Finals Week 1: Roosters v Rabbitohs preview
Easts win the battleground, can Souths win the war?
A rivalry dating back more than a century will round out the opening week of the finals as the Sydney Roosters host the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Allianz Stadium.
Facing off in a high stakes rematch a week on from the opening of the new Allianz Stadium, the two foundation rivals will be fighting to keep their grand final hopes alive with the loser bowing out of the premiership race. Finishing the regular season in sixth position off the back of eight straight victories leading into September, the Sydney Roosters earned the right to host Sunday's elimination final following a comprehensive 26-16 victory over the Rabbitohs last Friday.
Welcoming back Daniel Tupou, Joseph Suaalii and Victor Radley from injury, coach Trent Robinson has been left to reckon with a potentially season-ending calf injury to star centre Joseph Manu. In the absence of Manu, utility Adam Keighran has been elevated to the bench, ahead of specialist outside-backs Kevin Naiqama and Oliver Gildart, as cover for Drew Hutchison in the centres.
Winning 13 out of 21 finals matches during Robinson's tenure, the match will hold additional significance for mid-season acquisition Matt Lodge, who will celebrate his 100th appearance in first grade.
Winning nine of their final 12 matches to qualify for the play-offs in seventh position, the South Sydney Rabbitohs will be banking on returning cavalry to reverse last week's ten-point loss. Welcoming back Damien Cook and Campbell Graham at hooker and centre respectively, captain Cameron Murray has been named to play despite sustaining a Category 1 concussion in the opening moments of last Friday's clash.
Holding a solid record over the Roosters with four successive victories prior to last week's loss, coach Jason Demetriou will be striving to come away with a win in his finals debut.
The Roosters and Rabbitohs have met three times previously in finals football during the NRL era. The Roosters hold a 2-1 advantage with wins in the 2018 Preliminary Final and 2019 Qualifying Final, while the Rabbitohs emerged victorious in the 2014 Preliminary Final.
Last meeting: Round 25 2022 - Roosters 26 Rabbitohs 16
Who to watch: The most influential factor in the Roosters bid to progress through to the semi finals may prove to be the team declared by coach Trent Robinson one hour before kick-off. Electing to use playmaker Drew Hutchison as a makeshift centre in recent weeks, the Roosters coach has come up trumps, but, as history shows, selecting players out of position in finals football can have dire results. Betting on the versatility of Ryan Matterson, ahead of a backline specialist, proved costly in the preliminary final five years ago, while the decision to back rookie centre Paul Momirovski a year later played a crucial part in getting the Tricolours into the premiership decider. Robinson has proven himself to be one of the greatest coaches of the modern era, but if he rolls the dice in the knowledge of the mistake he made once before, he'll only have himself to blame should the Roosters bow out.
Sunday afternoon will serve as Latrell Mitchell's first appearance in finals football since joining the South Sydney Rabbitohs two years ago. Missing consecutive finals campaigns through injury and suspension, the 25-year-old superstar has proven his class on the big stage repeatedly during his time with the Roosters. Scoring a match-sealing four-pointer in his first final against Brisbane and having a hand in the try that gave the Tricolours back-to-back titles two years later, the Ferrari from Taree will relish the opportunity to send his former teammates packing at the end of 80 minutes. Producing 16 try-assists and 79 tackles breaks in 14 appearances this season, Mitchell's return to finals football could be the difference in the Rabbitohs going one better this season.
The favourite: The Roosters are expected to progress through to the semi finals at the expense of their long-standing rivals.
My tip: Tedesco v Mitchell. Keary v Walker. Radley v Murray. In a game where so many of the individual match-ups are evenly poised, the deciding factor could prove to be the experienced Trent Robinson holding his nerve against finals rookie Jason Demetriou on the selection front. Rabbitohs by 2.
