They had their tyres pumped up, but the Sydney Roosters moved quick to let them back down.
On the same day a newspaper poll from rival captains declared the Roosters the team to beat this NRL season, players squashed any mention of title talk ahead of their season-opener.
“We know that anyone who’s predicting premierships at this time of the year, they’re just taking a pluck, having a guess. We won’t pay any attention to that,” second-rower Aidan Guerra said.
A number of bookmakers have installed Penrith and Melbourne to take out this year’s NRL crown, however the Roosters aren’t far away on the fifth line of betting.
Their credentials come after a dismal 2016 campaign where they finished second last.
“Given where we finished last year, we’re only as good as our last performance. You just have to take it week-to-week and get some wins under the belt,” said winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall.
New recruit Luke Keary revealed the playing group had been openly motivated by their lack of success last year – their worst showing under coach Trent Robinson.
It came after three straight minor premierships under Robinson’s watch.
“The boys have touched on it a few times here – they didn’t have the season they wanted last year. There’s only one way to go and that’s up, for them,” Keary said.
The Roosters have enjoyed a settled summer, which is in stark contrast to last year when they began without a suspended Mitchell Pearce and injured Jared Warea-Hargreaves.
Without the key pair, the Tricolours lost seven of their opening eight games.
“We didn’t start on the best foot, injuries and off the field. But we’re starting with a clean slate this year. We’ve got everyone available. There’s no excuses this year,” Kenny-Dowall said.
“We’ll take a lot of confidence out of knowing we’ve got close to our full strength team in round one. Hopefully that replicates in our performances. It’s a great way to start the season.”
Oingo Boingo
Guest
Every article about the Roosters and last years failures points to injuries and off field dramas , whereas they both definitely played a part , I personally think that 3 MP's and only one GF appearance had an impact on their mental state as a group . Having a pretty poor year in 2016 has hopefully got the fires burning once again and along with some tremendous youngsters as well as the old heads ,they should be a genuine top four threat . A lot goes into winning a premiership,including a bit of luck and that's something no one can predict.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I like the Roosters this year. So many factors combined to ruin last season. They've still got a killer squad. I'm expecting a massive season from Boyd Cordner. Also think Pearce will have a big one. I like that they have players from outside their 17 that can come into the team. I reckon they'll be top 4 and might just have more motivation and fire in the belly at the business end than some other teams.