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Finals Week 2 - Warriors v Roosters Preview
September 18th 2008 23:01
Category: Weekly Tips
New Zealand Warriors v Sydney Roosters
Friday 6:30pm, Mount Smart Stadium
Total Games 22 – Warriors 11 wins, Roosters 10 wins, 1 draw
Most Recent Meeting – Round 11 2008, Roosters 38 def. Warriors 12
The Warriors produced the upset of the season with a 18-15 defeat of the reigning premiers down on their home turf in Melbourne. And in doing so, became the first eighth placed team to best the top ranked side in week one of the finals. The boys from NZ have now earned themselves a semi final at home and they’ll enter this clash full of confidence.
Their opponents, the Roosters, were physical against the Broncos but lacked the skill and enterprise to crack the Brisbane defence. You can expect some big hits during the opening exchanges of this one. Remarkably, the Roosters defeated the Warriors in their last clash at Mount Smart Stadium.
However, I think the Warriors will be too strong on Friday night. If dummy halves Ian Henderson and Nathan Fien can run out of dummy half, the big Sydney forwards could struggle. When you add in 30,000 parochial Kiwis, and the fact it will be Logan Swann and Ruben Wiki’s last match at home, you can be sure the Roosters will face an uphill battle.
Players to Watch:
Jerome Ropati (Warriors)
The speedy centre (pictured) set up his team’s match winning try with a brilliant swerve and offload. This week he’ll be coming up against one of Sia Soliola or Setiamata Sa – two of the bigger centres in the game. If Ropati uses his acceleration and footwork he will pose a big danger for the less mobile Soliola and Sa.
Mitchell Pearce (Roosters)
To be honest I can’t see why there’s so much hype surrounding Pearce. At this stage of his career, he’s definitely not up to Origin standard. Pearce relies too heavily on his kicking game as a means of setting up tries. If the Roosters are to win, he will have to run the ball and use his passing game to put his teammates through gaps.
Prediction: Warriors by 10
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