Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos
Vale: Terry Hill
16 hours ago | National Rugby League
Roosters v Broncos preview
Roosters shoot for their third-straight win as Brisbane look to prove they are the real deal in 2019
While a 10-point loss in the opening round to South Sydney may have cast premature doubts over the Tricolours' premiership credentials, back-to-back wins over Manly and Parramatta have quickly silenced them.
Although not the most difficult opponents, both were defeated by an understrength Roosters outfit without Cooper Cronk and Jake Friend.
The defending premiers were predicted by the majority of pundits to take out this year's title again, owing to the fact that they still possess the strongest squad in the competition.
However, after a relatively healthy 2018, some wondered whether potential injuries would bring them undone. They noted that while the Roosters' top seventeen may be strong, their depth outside of that isn't of the same quality.
The versatility of the squad has been on show in the past fortnight, with Latrell Mitchell spending time at five-eighth in Cronk's absence while Victor Radley has filled in at hooker. And without two influential members of their spine, the Roosters are undefeated.
While Friend is still missing this week, Cronk returns for an even bigger test against a Broncos side desperate to bounce back after a disappointing defeat.
That loss to the Dragons has again cast doubts over whether Brisbane are too inconsistent to figure as a real threat in the finals.
Although the talent in their squad is undeniable, particularly in their forward pack, they were unable to match the intensity that they had played with the week prior against North Queensland.
Instead, what they produced was a flurry of errors, 14 of them to be exact. Their defence wasn't much better, with poor one-on-one misses seeing the Dragons gain easy metres upfield.
While they only went down by one point, the Broncos can count themselves lucky they weren't against a better-quality team.
They will be without James Roberts this weekend, with Kotoni Staggs replacing him in the centres.
Last meeting: Round 24 2018 - Roosters 8 Broncos 22
Who to watch: Against one of the competition's most dangerous forward packs, and without regular front rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves the pressure is on Zane Tetevano to deliver. Called on to play 80 minutes against Manly in an understrength pack, Waerea-Hargreaves ran for over 220 metres and made 43 tackles in a bruising display. Then, last week against Parramatta, he managed 125 and 21 in those respective categories from 44 minutes on the park. While more than capable of quality work up front, Tetevano doesn't usually play a starting role and will need to assert his dominance early in Waerea-Hargreaves' absence.
Brisbane lost their enforcer for two weeks to suspension but now Matt Lodge returns eager to repay his teammates for his ill-discipline. Lodge's role is very similar to Waerea-Hargreaves in that both provide the aggression both in attack and defence that any good forward pack needs. And his return is also crucial in the sense that it allows Tevita Pangai-Junior to shift back to lock while Matt Gillett takes up his preferred position on the edge. But with a point to prove after two weeks on the sideline, look for Lodge to make his presence known early.
The favourite: The Roosters are well-backed to continue their surge back towards the top.
My tip: No one can with any confidence take the Broncos to bounce back here. The Tricolours are a class above. Roosters by 10.
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Latrell Mitchell 4. Joseph Manu 5. Matt Ikuvalu 6. Luke Keary 7. Cooper Cronk 15. Zane Tetevano 9. Victor Radley 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner 17. Angus Crichton 13. Isaac Liu 12. Mitchell Aubusson 14. Lindsay Collins 16. Poasa Faamausili 18. Nat Butcher
1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Jack Bird 5. Jamayne Isaako 6. Anthony Milford 7. Kodi Nikorima 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Joe Ofahengaue 11. Alex Glenn 12. Matt Gillett 13. Tevita Pangai 14. Gehamat Shibasaki 15. Jaydn Su'a 16. Thomas Flegler 17. David Fifita
Referees: Ashley Klein, Phil Henderson; Sideline Officials: Nick Beashel, Michael Wise; Video Referees: Steve Chiddy, Ben Galea;