The Roar
The Roar

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Hello, welcome to the off-season from hell

Roar Guru
16th February, 2016
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Boyd Cordner could return from a foot injury. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Colin Whelan)
Roar Guru
16th February, 2016
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The Roosters entered 2016 having lost James Maloney, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and a number of other players who added to a great level of depth to the club’s 2015 season.

Roosters fans entered 2016 hopeful that Blake Ferguson and Jackson Hastings could fill the massive voids left by Tuivasa-Sheck and Maloney.

Yet halfway through February the Chooks can now rule out Mitchell Pearce, Michael Jennings, who moved onto the Eels, and Boyd Cordner and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who will miss the start of the season through injury.

This could possibly be the worst off-season any rugby league team in history has experienced. So can we count out the Roosters out as a threat for the top eight?

As a Roosters fan, I am very biased, but the Roosters are still a huge chance to make the eight and may push for a spot in the top four if they can survive until Waerea-Hargreaves and Cordner return.

Last year the Sharks pushed for a spot in the four after losing their first five games to start the year, so it can be done even with a poor start.

Even without Cordner and Waerea-Hargreaves, the Roosters feature a pack that would be the envy of many teams in the NRL. There is a front row of Sam Moa, Dylan Napa and Jake Friend, a back row featuring Aiden Guerra, Mitchell Aubusson and Isaac Liu, and a bench boasting Sio Siua Taukeiaho and Kane Evans.

There is plenty of skill, size and intimidation to get the team moving forward to give space to a back line featuring Shaun Kenny-Dowall (for now), Joe Burgess, Blake Ferguson, Dale Copley and Daniel Tupou.

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This incarnation of the Roosters can still scare a lot of teams.

The biggest question will come down to the rookie halves in Jackson Hastings and either Jayden Nikorima or Tyler Cornish. But with a pack led by Moa, feeding the ball to guys like Ferguson, they have a simple job. Trent Robinson will be making that clear to these young men who have a lot of potential.

This off-season has been a nightmare and Alice’s Coopers Welcome to my Nightmare probably describes it most accurately. But hope survives, especially in this Roosters fan’s heart.

This team cannot win the premiership but they can push for a spot in the top four and maybe ruin other teams’ chances. And who knows, maybe I will be proven wrong in October.

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