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The last spot in the grand final is up for grabs as the Sydney Roosters take on the St George Illawarra Dragons for the chance to play the Brisbane Broncos in their bid to be the inaugural champions of the NRLW. Join The Roar from 5:10pm (AEST) for live coverage of the match.
Despite going into the 2018 season as premiership favourites, the Roosters are 0-2 with one round to go however, they still have a glimmer of hope.
Sydney have fell short in tight encounters against the Warriors and Broncos, losing by only six and ten points respectively.
Much of the blame has been placed on New South Wales halfback Maddie Studdon who has been relegated to the bench in favour of Zahara Temara for the tricolours’ final game of the regular season.
The Roosters have a star-studded side on paper and it is imperative that they work through the middle by utilising their forward pack led by Ruan Sims, Elianna Walton, Simaima Taufa and Tazmin Gray before exposing the flanks in the opposition 20 and shifting the ball out to Isabella Kelly and Shontelle Stowers.
Adam Hartigan’s team have really struggled to come up with anything in attack and their last-tackle options have been poor, which comes as a surprise given their State of Origin backline.
If they win their first game of the season, they require a ten-point turnaround with the Warriors to reach the grand final.
The Dragons bounced back from a devastating first round loss to shock the Warriors 22-10. An injury cloud still hangs over the head of star fullback Samantha Bremner, battling an ankle injury, however New Zealand international Honey Hireme slotted in well at the back last week.
St George Illawarra gave away too many penalties when defending their own goalline which could prove a problem in holding out the likes of Kelly and Karina Brown, however their defensive line held quite strong against the Warriors despite the Auckland-based side not testing them in attack too much.
Prediction
The Roosters will finally post a win on the board with Zahara Temara to prove the difference in the halves however, it may not be enough to see them through to the big dance.
Roosters by 6.
Join The Roar from 5:10pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
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