Round 21: Roosters v Sea Eagles preview
It's the battle of the birds to maintain a top 4 spot on the NRL ladder.
The Sydney Roosters endured a challenging outing against the Melbourne Storm in Round 20, suffering a 24-8 defeat. The match saw Victor Radley and Connor Watson sent to the bin for professional fouls, adding to the team's woes. Despite the disappointment, Wally Lewis Medal winner Angus Crichton showcased his class with seven offloads and 15 runs for 111 metres, while Daniel Tupou notched his 156th career try.
Heading into their clash with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, coach Trent Robinson has opted for consistency, retaining the same 17-man squad from the previous round. Lindsay Collins and Spencer Leniu are set to start after coming off the bench last round, boosting the Roosters' forward pack. With the team eager to bounce back, they must address their discipline and capitalise on scoring opportunities to overcome their recent struggles against top-tier teams.
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are riding high after a dominant 38-8 victory over the Gold Coast Titans. Despite conceding two early tries to trail 8-0, the Sea Eagles displayed resilience, rallying to take a 12-8 lead at halftime and then piling on 38 unanswered points in the second half. Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic, fresh off State of Origin duties, played pivotal roles, while Taniela Paseka's return from a thumb injury added strength to the lineup. Highlights included Brooks' impressive solo effort, Lehi Hopoate's fourth try of the year, and a double from Tom Trbojevic, with his brother Ben also crossing the line.
However, the Sea Eagles have their challenges. Lehi Hopoate is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks due to a facial fracture. In his absence, Tommy Talau will shift to the wing, Ben Trbojevic will move to the centres, and Corey Waddell will join the back row. Taniela Paseka is set to start, with Toafofoa Sipley moving to the bench. Despite these changes, the Sea Eagles are determined to build on their recent success and maintain their momentum as they prepare to face a Roosters side hungry for redemption.
Last meeting: Round 2 2024 - Sea Eagles 21 Roosters 14
Who to watch: After debuting for the NSW Blues in Game II of State of Origin and backing up from Game III, Connor Watson has toiled away for the Roosters. In the loss to the Storm, Watson made the most tackles from the Roosters side. He was fairly quiet with the ball, not running near as many metres as he normally does. However, another week of recovery and training after Origin may help him get his numbers back into the triple digits.
Former Wests Tigers player Tommy Talau ran for almost 300 metres in Sunday's win against the Titans - he literally ran 299 of them! He also made 2 line breaks, three tackle breaks, a try assist and scored his own four-pointer. It will be interesting to see if he can have the same impact this weekend after being moved out to the wing with the loss of Lehi Hopoate.
FAVOURITE: The Roosters are the favourites to take this game out.
MY TIP: The Roosters don't often lose two in a row, so I expect them to come out firing in order to redeem themselves after that pretty poor showing against the Storm. Roosters by 10.
