Brisbane v Roosters | Thursday, September 1, 7.55pm (AEDT), Suncorp Stadium
The Broncos produced their most complete performance of the season to shellshock Melbourne and they can keep the pressure on North Queensland for the all-important fourth place with victory here.
Other teams will surely have noted Brisbane’s willingness to transition the ball laterally early in the tackle count as an effective way of unsettling the Storm’s defensive structures.
A big crowd should be on hand to witness Corey Parker’s last official home game with Brisbane having the luxury of naming an unchanged line-up.
Boyd Cordner is a notable omission for the Roosters, who started well against Cronulla but were unable to maintain that intensity in the second half as they encountered a side with far more to play for, a similar scenario to what may eventuate here.
Vilified for his Australia Day antics, Mitchell Pearce made the surprising statement midweek that the Roosters’ culture was in need of an overhaul as on-field success had papered over a degree of hedonism amongst his teammates.
Unibet Odds:
Last time they met: Rd 21 – Roosters 32-16
Tip: Brisbane at $1.19
Line tip: Brisbane -13.5
Teams:
Broncos: 1 Darius Boyd 2 Corey Oates 3 Thomas Opacic 4 James Roberts 5 Jordan Kahu 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Adam Blair 11 Sam Thaiday 12 Matthew Gillett 13 Corey Parker 14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Tevita Pangai 16 Jai Arrow 17 Alex Glenn.
Roosters: 1 Blake Ferguson 5 Latrell Mitchell 3 Dale Copley 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 2 Daniel Tupou 6 Connor Watson 7 Mitchell Pearce 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9 Jake Friend (c) 10 Dylan Napa 11 Ryan Matterson 12 Aidan Guerra 13 Isaac Liu. Interchange: 14 Sam Moa 15 Kane Evans 16 Mitchell Frei 17 Nat Butcher 18 Joseph Manu.