I don't think the Knights can out-play the Roosters so much as surprise them early and get away to a good start.
I'd compare the match-up to three other important games in the Knights' history. The 1997 Grand Final, the 2001 GF and Vs Brisbane in Brisbane this year.
Three big games where the Knights were given no hope of winning. People compared, they "reasoned", yet they still couldn't bear the thought of the Knights doing the unthinkable....but they did.
The Knights have a good pack at the moment, and they're in form. Perry, Parsons, Kennedy, Abraham, Simpson and Buderus - they're all representative material, and provided they're all fit I think we can match the Roosters up front.
Then, dare I suggest, the Knights need to get the ball wide, create half-chances early and put the Roosters on the back foot. The Knights have no chance of winning this game, no chance - but I think that is precisely where you win a game like this.
The Roosters are a good team, not to be under-rated. They'll win the premiership most likely, but hopefully not before the Knights knock them off to disrupt their finals a bit.
I actually think the Knights can do it - it'll be a monumental effort without Johns, but I still think we can win it.
Apparently we're big outsiders, no-one thinks we can win - but I do, and I don't mind being wrong in order to make a point that the Knights have every reason to want to win this game, and make a big claim about how good they are without their first-choice halfback.