Sydney Roosters

Canberra upset Roosters in NRL thriller

The Roosters could have gone a game clear on top of the ladder with a win at GIO Stadium.

Instead, their poor record in the nation's capital continued, where they haven't won since 2010.

The Roosters are locked in a three-way battle at the top of the table for the minor premiership with Melbourne and South Sydney.

The Storm are ahead because of their superior points difference.

Judiciary: Radley facing suspsension, Manu charged

Radley will receive a one-match suspension if he enters an early guilty plea or is found guilty at the judiciary, after being hit with a grade two charge.

His Roosters teammate Joseph Manu can avoid a suspension with an early plea after being charged with dangerous contact over a tackle on Manly's Dylan Walker that drew criticism from Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett

Stat Attack: Roosters' chance to join the 100 club... again

Given South Sydney's dominance in the first two or three decades from the inception of the code in Australia and a strong record through the middle of last century, they hold the edge over the Roosters with 112 wins.

However it is the Roosters who boast the record for the most ever wins against one club, with 117 victories against the North Sydney Bears. The Bunnies downed Norths 104 times and the Balmain Tigers got the better of the Bears on 102 occasions.

Cooper Cronk-Luke Keary combination fires to help Roosters to victory over Sharks

It has always had the characteristics of a match made in heaven and the combination clicked into gear perfectly on Friday night to ruthlessly put Cronulla to the sword 28-10.

With an aerial target like Blake Ferguson and a lethal sweep runner like James Tedesco to throw into the mix, the blueprint for a premiership contender was finally rolled out by Trent Robinson’s men.

The question over the Roosters' premiership credentials

While questions about the Roosters salary cap is one of the most common topics raised with NRL officials and media commentators by fans of rival clubs, the reality is that the roster at the Bondi-based club has one of the fewest number of players with first-grade experience in the competition.

After recruiting Australian halfback Cooper Cronk and NSW fullback James Tedesco, the Roosters are many people's premiership favourites, but the club's losses significantly outnumber their gains and they will be relying heavily on rookies to cover injuries.

Nuuausala returns to Roosters

Nuuausala, who played 153 games for the Roosters between 2007 and 2014, was released by English Super League club Wigan last week citing homesickness.

The 31 year old Nuuausala, who was part of the Roosters' premiership-winning team in 2013, toured Australia with Wigan earlier this month and decided to stay behind, in a bid to make a return to the NRL after last playing for Canberra in 2016.

He will start training with the Roosters immediately and will add strength to Trent Robinson's bench, which could also possibly include Jared Waerea- Hargreaves and Zane Tetevano.

The Stat to Fix: New discipline woes emerge for Roosters

Despite the Roosters' once justified reputation as serial offenders, they ranked eighth for penalties conceded in 2017 with an average of 6.5 infringements a game.

However, their penalty woes still proved their downfall based on NRL.com Stats' Discipline Index, which weights a penalty's influence based on when it was conceded in the tackle count, and where a team was pinged on the field.

Roosters to ignore Cordner's injury history with new contract

Cordner has been limited to just 30 games for the Roosters over the past two years due to knee and pec injuries, with the former also impacting his ability to train at full capacity

As the current NSW Origin and Roosters co-captain Cordner is one of the biggest names off-contract in 2018, with Angus Chrichton's scheduled arrival from the Rabbitohs next season fuelling speculation that Cordner may have been on the outer.

Sydney Roosters predicted Round 1 line-up

They're not totally unscathed though with not just Mitchell Pearce but a host of other stars (Aidan Guerra and Connor Watson to Newcastle for example) also departed.

It will be very much a new-look side for Trent Robinson in 2018 and while the depth may not be what it once was they have quality in every position.

NRL.com expert Jamie Soward says:

Why Sydneysiders should support the Roosters

The finals series started with such promise for the harbour city with five teams finishing inside the Telstra Premiership top eight, but two weeks later that number has dwindled down to one with the Bondi boys Sydney's last hope. 

Week One of the finals saw the pride of the Northern beaches and the Shire bow out while Sydney's golden West was left reeling when the Eels and Panthers were eliminated by their Queensland foes.