Round 19: Dragons v Roosters preview
Two of the most inconsistent sides in the NRL presently will face-off in what will be one of the toughest games to tip a winner for.
Two of the most inconsistent sides in the NRL presently will face-off in what will be one of the toughest games to tip a winner for.
The Dragons climbed into the top 8 after their Round 13 win over the Knights, but since then they've been a defensive sieve, conceding 134 points in their last 4 games. So far in 2025, the Dragons have the lowest possession stats, getting just 47.7% of the ball. Pair this with their very low completion rate (76.8% - which makes them one of the 4 worst teams for completions) and the fact that are one of the bottom 7 sides for Errors and Handling Errors shows that the Dragons woes in attack are largely self-inflicted, due to their lack of discipline with ball-in-hand.
The Dragons strength is their running game in the middle, especially out of dummy half, while their defence has proven to be the best in the NRL for sticking to their tackles, as they have missed less tackles than all other teams. So if teams are scoring so easily and the side isn't missing many tackles, suggests their defensive line is disjointed and not working as a cohesive unit, giving teams plenty of opportunities to exploit holes in the line, or players who isolate themselves by being out of position.
Meanwhile, trying to predict which Roosters side will turn up every week has been harder than trying to pick your nose with a broken finger. In Round 1 they were flogged by Brisbane 50-14 in Sydney, but 5 weeks later, they beat the Broncos 26-16 at Suncorp Stadium. Round 2 they beat Penrith and again, 5 weeks later, lost to the woefully out-of-form Panthers 40-12. In the last 6 weeks though, despite having 3 wins and 3 losses, they've become somewhat more consistent, putting in strong performances against top 2 sides Canterbury and Canberra, hammering top 8 side Cronulla and beating lowly sides Newcastle (narrowly) and the Cowboys (by 34 points). Last week though they lost to the struggling Wests Tigers - a team they've dominated, convincingly, for two decades. The Roosters were blitzed in the first half before rallying to almost snatch victory in the second half.
The Roosters are the second worst team for completions which has prevented them from winning more games. They are one of the top 4 sides for line breaks, tackle breaks and offloads which shows they are doing all of the hard work to create opportunities. But their completion rate coupled with the fact they are one of the 3 worst sides for committing handling errors and conceding penalties shows a lack of composure and discipline in attack.
Last meeting: Round 8 2025 - Roosters 46 Dragons 18
Who to watch: Roosters outside back Mark Nawaqanitawase has become a real focal point for their attack on the right edge and he has proven to be capable of playing at centre as well as on the wing. The Roosters will look to shift to him frequently when in the Dragons half. He has scored 11 tries in his last 8 NRL games.
Damien Cook has been very active running from dummy half and will be bringing his middle forwards with him on these runs to make big inroads early in sets up the middle.
Favourite: The Roosters come into this contest as the favourites. They've won 20 of their last 25 games against the Dragons and have racked up 477 points in their last 14 clashes with the Dragons.
My tip: Sydney have a swag of players returning for this match, including halfback Sam Walker. They will be seeing this match as an opportunity to begin their run to the finals. Roosters by 16.
