- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Have we seen the Roosters of old in 2015? Not yet, but they are starting to show glimpses of their best and at their best they are near unstoppable.
Despite off-field distractions, Trent Robinson seems to have the Bondi boys starting to boil at the right time of the year.
We got a taste of the real Roosters as they dominated the Bulldogs in every aspect of Friday night’s game – that is until complacency set in. Dropping 28 unanswered points shows an attitude adjustment is necessary.
For that period of the game the Roosters lost all respect for the ball and opposition. Credit to the Dogs for not packing it in after a horror start, they fought hard and probably deserved that win more, but it didn’t work out for them.
The Roosters got a well-timed wakeup call during that match, and we won’t see another performance like that from them. They have a tough run home which should put them in good stead for the finals, especially the Brookvale clash with Manly. They could be challenging for the minor premiership – a four-point deficit can be washed away quickly – and they have the squad to do it.
For the Roosters to be successful their forwards must make an immediate impact from the get go. They surely don’t need any help finding aggression with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Dylan Napa. They have a massive pack that is surprisingly fast and agile. When you combine that with solid fringe players like Aiden Guerra and Mitchell Aubusson – the latter being one of the most underrated players in the game – you get a strong engine room to carry the team up field and give the halves a solid platform to lay on points.
And the points can come fast. Their outside backs have speed, height and agility, which makes them threatening whether it be via aerial bombardment, rolling one along the ground, or burning edge defenders on the outside.
However this can all be undone by their inability to defend their right edge. The Bulldogs exploited that edge numerous times and it’s hard to imagine other coaches haven’t taken note of this deficiency. The problem seems to be a mixture of communication breakdowns and defending outside in instead of all sliding across as a unit. Sounds like an easy fix, but they only have a few weeks to do so before it becomes a major issue.
I’m going to spotlight Mitchell Pearce as the man to lead the Roosters deep into the finals. He has overcome the constant barrage of criticism he faces each time he plays for the Blues, and incorporated a lot more second-phase play into his game with 26 offloads this season, as well as putting players through gaps regularly (17 linebreak assists).
Pearce and James Maloney need to link up more during the set and create the threat of them both attacking at the same time.
Regardless of off-field incidents and injuries, the Roosters are in a solid position and have the depth to cover any player in their starting side. Brendan Elliot has been immense since coming into the team, while Jackson Hastings is filling in well with his bench roll – expect him to get more game time during these last few rounds, especially with the impending departure of Maloney.
If they hit their peak, maybe only South Sydney or a Johnathan Thurston-inspired Cowboys could touch the Roosters.
Unless the curse strikes again and they meet the Sharks. If you can’t beat them join them – just ask James Maloney.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.