Roosters v Knights
BlueTongue Stadium
Sunday 2pm
THE way these two sides play we should be in for a cracking game of fast, open footy with plenty of points on offer.
The Roosters are flying high at the top of the table after four solid wins and just the one loss (to the Broncos), while the Knights are coming off a hat-trick of losses.
Things are not entirely grim for Brian Smith’s boys though – they lost by a point to the Eels in round 3, fell by six away to the impressive Warriors in round 4 and then held their own with the Broncos; despite losing 34-22 they were steaming over the top of the Brisbane side late in the second half before a lucky turnover try to Justin Hodges pushed the visitors out of danger.
The Roosters were tradesman-like against the Panthers at CUA Stadium – it was a danger game for them and coach Brad Fittler would be happy to have driven east with the points.
The Roosters are still without fullback Anthony Minichiellio although star second-rower Willie Mason rejoins the starting pack.
For the Knights, metre-eater Kurt Gidley moves from fullback to halfback for the injured Scott Dureau, Chris Houston starts at second row, with Zeb Taia pushing lock Matt Hilder to the bench. Wes Naiqama takes Gidley’s spot at fullback.
Watch out Roosters: Gidley’s move closer to the action is a double-edged sword. He’s by far the Knights’ best attacking weapon (107 runs – most in the NRL – and 795 metres gained from four games, with his 199-metre game average the best in the comp) but he may not get the space he desires to make things happen.
Conversely, with more touches the danger is always there that he’ll prove even more of a headache for the Roosters, especially when their big forwards start to tire.
If the Knights can stay in the contest around the 55-minute mark, they’re a big show of running over their opponents, as they showed last week against the Broncos.
Watch out Knights: Statistics show the Roosters pretty much have the wood over their opponents all around the park – worryingly the Knights have conceded 60 points in their past two games, while the Roosters have conceded just 70 in all five.
Brian Smith knows his side can score points – the trick to winning this game is to limit their opponents’ points’ tally. He’ll be looking for “flop” exponents Danny Buderus (10), Danny Wicks (6), Daniel Tolar (7) and Matt Hilder (6) to push the letter of the law surrounding slowing down the play-the-balls, enabling them to fully and adequately reset their defences.
Where it will be won: The kick-returns. With Gidley at halfback they lose a lot of oomph here; Naiqama has an average carry of 76 metres a game and even more than double that still falls well short of what Gidley provides.
Wingers James McManus (73 metres) and Cooper Vuna (50) need to lift massively. Down the other end the Roosters will be feeling comfortable that even though Minichiello is sidelined, they have the likes of fullback Sam Perrett and winger Shaun Kenny-Dowall carting the ball back an average 151 metres and 130 metres respectively.
The History: Played 34; Roosters 18, Knights 14, drawn 2. The Roosters have won five of the past eight games, but the Knights have won two of the past three – and significantly both those victories came at Gosford, the only two times they’ve met at BlueTongue.
Conclusion: With doubt concerning Darren Lockyer’s fitness for the upcoming Centenary Test, expect Braith Anasta to have a particularly busy game. He’s been in great form but despite that names like Greg Bird and Greg Inglis have been mentioned ahead of his as a likely replacement.
Mitchell Pearce continues to grow in confidence, taking on the line more each game and landing well-placed kicks with greater regularity. Weather-permitting, you won’t want to look away from this clash too often – the potential for 60+ points is there. But expect the Roosters to post the majority of them.
Match officials: Referee – Steve Lyons; Sideline Officials – Gavin Reynolds & Paul Holland; Video ref – Russell Smith.
Televised: FoxSports 2 – Live 2pm.
