Roar Guru
Blake Ferguson will play against his former club for the first time as the Sydney Roosters take on their former premiership winning coach Ricky Stuart’s side, the Canberra Raiders. Join The Roar from 1.50pm (AEDT) for live scores and coverage.
Both sides have already been boosted before this clash with key forwards Sam Moa and Shaun Fensom being cleared of crusher tackles at the NRL judiciary.
This has allowed Roosters coach Trent Robinson to name the same 17 that edged out Penrith by eight points on Monday night. Willie Manu and Lagi Setu have also been added to an extended six man bench.
Meanwhile, the Raiders welcome the return of their impressive young fullback Jack Wighton who will unexpectedly make an early return despite a fractured eye socket.
His comeback results in Jordan Rapana shifting to the wing, with Bill Tupou dropping down to NSW cup. Josh McCrone also makes way for Glenn Buttriss.
Fensom and Dane Tilse are also selected to start this weekend, meaning Shannon Boyd and Paul Vaughn are on the interchange bench.
The Roosters were impressive on Monday in bouncing back from a loss to South Sydney. A win here will help to support popular opinion that they are the second best team in the competition at present.
Meanwhile, the Raiders are coming off a disastrous second half performance in their loss to a Dragons side that had scored just eight points prior to last week. However, the fact that they led 18-0 with Wighton out shows the potential this side has under Stuart.
Ferguson, who scored two tries on Monday, believes he is a changed man from his Canberra days.
“I was a big bomb, a big ticking time bomb back then (at the Raiders). A big bomb erupted and I had to try and find my way back into the game,” Ferguson said this week.
Prediction:
This one looks to be too tough an ask for the inexperienced Raiders. The Roosters look to be coming into form, whilst Canberra suffered a big setback last weekend. With a star-studded back line running around for the Roosters on what is expected to be a warm Sunday afternoon, I feel this could get ugly.
Roosters by 28
To find out whether Stuart can record an upset against his former side log on to The Roar from 1:50 (AEDT) and follow our live coverage. Be sure to leave your comments as the game progresses.