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Match Preview

Roosters v Raiders: Collins to start; Valemei to debut

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pan66.com
Timestamp

The Roosters looked like they were in for a tough night against the Cowboys last week before taking control with a devastating 30-minute scoring blitz en route to a 42-16 win.

That they did it without Brett Morris - one of the competition's form players - only made their performance all the more impressive.

His replacement Matt Ikuvalu filled the void in no uncertain terms, becoming the first Roosters player in 65 years to score five tries. Ryan Hall struggled to make an impact again and it'll be interesting to see who will make way for Morris if he's fit to return.

The injury-hit Raiders went down fighting last week against Melbourne and will have to lift again in Thursday's grand final rematch.

The Rundown

Team news

Roosters: A late change with Lindsay Collins coming into the starting side at prop, Siosiua Taukeiaho going to lock and Isaac Liu to the bench.

Brett Morris will return from a groin injury in place of Ryan Hall, who dropped out of the side an hour before kick-off along with Poasa Faamausili.

Captain Boyd Cordner is back after being rested due to a head knock, pushing Mitch Aubusson to the bench. Nat Butcher and Drew Hutchison were culled from the squad on Thursday night. The club announced Butcher suffered "a minor injury at training late in the week". The Roosters have won their past 10 games at the SCG.

Raiders: Kai O'Donnell has come into the starting side an hour before kick-off with Joseph Tapine going to the bench.

Curtis Scott has been ruled out due to an infected cut on his arm, with debutant Semi Valemei replacing him on the bench.

Hooker Josh Hodgson (knee) and Bailey Simonsson (shoulder) have joined the injury list, with Siliva Havili and Jordan Rapana starting in their places and Tom Starling coming onto the interchange.

Reserve halfback Matt Frawley joined Scott in being omitted 24 hours from kick-off while Darby Medlyn and Sam Williams were cut an hour before kick-off. The Raiders play their first game at the SCG since the 1987 grand final.

Team Lists

Backs

  • Fullback for Roosters is number 1 James Tedesco
    Fullback for Raiders is number 1 Charnze  Nicoll-Klokstad 
  • Winger for Roosters is number 2 Matt Ikuvalu
    Winger for Raiders is number 2 Nick Cotric
  • Centre for Roosters is number 3 Josh Morris
    Centre for Raiders is number 3 Jarrod Croker
  • Centre for Roosters is number 4 Joseph Manu
    Centre for Raiders is number 4 Michael Oldfield
  • Winger for Roosters is number 5 Brett Morris
    Winger for Raiders is number 5 Jordan Rapana
  • Five-Eighth for Roosters is number 6 Luke Keary
    Five-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Jack Wighton
  • Halfback for Roosters is number 7 Kyle Flanagan
    Halfback for Raiders is number 7 George Williams

Forwards

  • Prop for Roosters is number 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
    Prop for Raiders is number 8 Josh Papali'i
  • Hooker for Roosters is number 9 Jake Friend
    Hooker for Raiders is number 9 Siliva Havili
  • Prop for Roosters is number 17 Lindsay Collins
    Prop for Raiders is number 10 Dunamis Lui
  • 2nd Row for Roosters is number 11 Boyd Cordner
    2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Hudson Young
  • 2nd Row for Roosters is number 12 Angus Crichton
    2nd Row for Raiders is number 12 Elliott Whitehead
  • Lock for Roosters is number 10 Siosiua Taukeiaho
    Lock for Raiders is number 15 Kai O'Donnell

Interchange

  • Interchange for Roosters is number 14 Lachlan Lam
    Interchange for Raiders is number 13 Joseph Tapine
  • Interchange for Roosters is number 15 Sitili Tupouniua
    Interchange for Raiders is number 14 Tom Starling
  • Interchange for Roosters is number 16 Mitchell Aubusson
    Interchange for Raiders is number 16 Ryan Sutton
  • Interchange for Roosters is number 20 Isaac Liu
    Interchange for Raiders is number 21 Semi Valemei

Match Officials

  • Referee: Gerard Sutton
  • Touch Judge: Dave Munro
  • Touch Judge: Todd Smith
  • Senior Review Official: Jared Maxwell

Last updated:

Key match-up

Luke Keary v Jack Wighton. Roosters five-eighth Keary continues to cement his standing as one of the game's premier playmakers, racking up 10 try assists, seven line-break assists and four tries over the first nine rounds. When Wighton plays well the Raiders usually play well, and he would know that better than anyone. If he can out-point Keary and make the Roosters work overtime in defence with a strong kicking and passing game, the Raiders could spring an upset.

Stat Attack

Roosters halfback Kyle Flanagan is playing catch-me-if-you-can with the rest of the field in the NRL point-scoring race. Flanagan has piled up 102 points - 30 more than his closest rival. On the downside, the 21-year-old has a league-high 21 ineffective tackles to his name. The Roosters beat the Raiders in three meetings last year - 30-24 in round nine, 22-18 in round 21 and 14-8 in the grand final.

Round 10 feature: Roosters and Raiders reignite rivalry

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Acknowledgement of Country

National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.