The Sydney Roosters have lifted the lid on the secret training regime they hope will lay the foundation for a charge to the NRL grand final.
The Roosters booked a date with Melbourne in Friday's preliminary final with a commanding 40-16 win over Manly at a sold-out Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
While teams typically drop their training load during the finals to remain fresh for the weekend, coach Trent Robinson threw that philosophy out the window in the wake of last week's loss to Penrith and ramped up the intensity.
'We wanted to bring that brutality'
Prop Spencer Leniu revealed it was one of the toughest weeks of training he's endured and said the squad carried that physicality into the game.
"It was [no holds barred]," Leniu said. "It was one of the hardest weeks of training I've had. We were really physical out there and that was a reflection of how we trained.
"We got some lessons after the Penrith game. All the boys came in and took their medicine and ripped into each other. It was one of the hardest weeks we've had, it was almost pre-season vibes. We were just ripping into each other to flick that switch."
The Roosters dominated from the opening whistle, veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves setting the tone with a powerful opening carry that knocked Tolu Koula out of the game.
Manly lose Koula on the first hit-up
The 35-year-old was playing his first match since receiving a three-game suspension for a high tackle and kept his NRL career alive for at least another week.
The Roosters also received a major boost with Victor Radley returning to the field just three weeks after fracturing his scapula. The lock set the tone up front alongside Waerea-Hargreaves during an impressive opening stint.
Waerea-Hargreaves will depart for England at the end of the season, one of five high-profile figures preparing to leave the club.
The veteran has long been the Roosters forward leader and Leniu said he set the tone during the week.
Match: Roosters v Sea Eagles
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Roosters
3rd Position
away Team
Sea Eagles
7th Position
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
"Jared rips in every single time he touches that paddock," Leniu said. "He was a different beast this week, just because of how we played against Penrith. We just took our medicine.
"[A few guys stepped up], but no doubt he is definitely the guy that sets the tone. He sets the smoke and it just catches fire with everyone else. Our NSW Cup boys who are not playing, they were running that hard, running over us and pumping us, tackling us hard as well.
"It's a big team effort, an all-in effort. Obviously the 17 who played, but all the 36 boys who were helping us train and put on Manly's plays, it's a credit to those boys as well. They could be on holidays right now, but they're helping us rip in."
The Roosters must now immediately turn their attention to defeating the minor premiers in Melbourne on Friday night.
It's a side the team has a poor recent record against, winning one of their last 11 matches against the Storm.
Melbourne claimed a tense 18-13 victory in last year's semi-final, Will Warbrick scoring in the 78th-minute to sink an undermanned Roosters side.
Storm v Roosters – Finals Week 2, 2023
While the tricolours may have struggled against the Storm, Leniu enjoyed plenty of success against the club while playing for the Panthers before moving east this season.
The prop said there's no secret ingredient for victory but is confident the Roosters can sink their rivals if they recreate the physical mindset they carried into Saturday's victory.
"There is no secret to beating them," Leniu said. "It's about going toe to toe with them and seeing who falls off the cliff first. It'll be no different this week. If we prepare the way we did this week and play that way, I reckon we will give them a really good crack.
"Finals games are win at all costs. If that means we have to bang each other at training, then we have to bang each other at training. That training intensity won't be any different this week. It's a short turn around, but we'll rip into each other again and hopefully rip in against the Storm on Friday."
