Adelaide Oval is the unique venue that will see the Roosters and Storm clash in a clash between the Top 2 teams of the comp. The aftermath of Origin has hit both teams hard though with several key players absent for the trip to South Australia.
Last Time Out
The Roosters demolished 40-18 to record their 9th consecutive win over the Tigers. In spite of losing captain Jake Friend to concussion within the first 5 minutes of the game and being atrociously error prone, the Roosters still managed to pile on the points. Utility Connor Watson finally had a chance to shine as he played out 75 minutes of the game in the unfamiliar Hooker position and nabbed 2 tries for his efforts.
The Storm edged out a narrow 1-point win in a thrilling game against the Cowboys. Despite both teams being ravaged by Origin selection, they still put forth a high quality effort with the Storm’s young guns shining in particular. Curtis Scott bagged a double in his 3rd game of first grade while 2nd gamer Brodie Croft stood up to nail the winning field goal just like Cronk would have. Both youngsters will have another opportunity to impress as they will need to deputise for the Storm’s absent stars once again.
Key Battle
The forwards. The Storm have some quality replacements to fill in the key positions of 1, 7 and 9 but regardless they’ll still be outclassed by a fit Roosters spine.
However if the forwards for the Storm step up and get over the top of the Roosters pack then they give their key players the chance to produce the goods of an upset.ย Jesse Bromwich had his best game of the season last week, if he keeps up those run metres and offloads he can trouble the line a lot. The likes of Tohu Harris and Dale Finucane will also need to be at their best.
For the Roosters they’ll be hoping the strong performance of Dylan Napa in Game II carries over to club level this week. Aidan Guerra also has a chance to hit back at his critics and make up for his snubbing with another good performance.
Prediction
Whenever the Storm’s holy trinity is missing, the task of victory becomes very difficult. The Roosters will be close to full strength, albeit missing inspirational skipper Boyd Cordner. The Roosters should prevail and further cement their spot in the Top 4. Chooks by 8+
Squads
Sydney Roosters
1. Michael Gordon
2. Daniel Tupou
3. Latrell Mitchell
4. Joseph Manu
5. Blake Ferguson
6. Luke Keary
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
9. Jake Friend (c)
10. Dylan Napa
15. Aidan Guerra
12. Mitchell Aubusson
13. Sio Siua Taukeiaho
Interchange:
14. Isaac Liu
16. Ryan Matterson
17. Connor Watson
Reserves:
18. Zane Tetevano
19. Mitchell Cornish
20. Nat Butcher
21. Chris Smith
24. Lindsay Collins
26. Victor Radley
Melbourne Storm *Likely team
22. Jahrome Hughes
2. Suliasi Vunivalu
16. Curtis Scott
4. Young Tonumaipea
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Cameron Munster
19. Brodie Croft
8. Jesse Bromwich (c)
18. Slade Griffin
10. Tim Glasby
11. Felise Kaufusi
12. Tohu Harris
13. Dale Finucane
Interchange:
14. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
15. Kenneath Bromwich
17. Mark Nicholls
20. Brandon Smith
Reserves:
21. Dean Britt
23. Vincent Leuluai
