Now that Round 1 is done and dusted and a new Round awaits, let's go through the top Roosters talking points from Round 1 against the Wests Tigers.
FERGO FANTASTIC
In what was a difficult afternoon for the Tricolours, one of the true positives to come from the match was the impressive performance from a rejuvenated Blake Ferguson.
He had a full pre-season with the Club for the first time since 2015 and the results were there to see on Saturday.
There was nothing Ferguson could do wrong in attack, splitting the defence on several occasions and was eventually rewarded with a four-pointer in the second half.
Ferguson was excellent at the back-end of last season and it appears that his good form has carried on into 2018.
Hopefully this is just the beginning of what we can expect from him this season.
COOPER OFFERS THE GOODS
Cooper Cronk's kicking game was impressive on Saturday, with a highlight reel that consisted of some smart kicks to the corner, some well-weighted grubbers and even a 40/20 late in the first half.
On top of that, he was exceptional in defence and it was marked with a bruising tackle on Chris Lawrence that resulted in an error.
DEFENCE IS KEY
Though points were hard to come by against the Tigers, the defensive effort from both sides was impressive.
The Tigers came away from the match with the two points, but it was a penalty goal the difference and one try per side.
As per usual, defence remains the number one key to victory in 2018.
TEDESCO’S LOUD RECEPTION
The Wests Tigers faithful are a proud bunch, and they were at their loudest in Round 1, particularly when new Roosters recruit James Tedesco had the ball.
The crowd had little issue letting Tedesco know their thoughts whenever he touched the ball.
It wasn’t the warmest welcome as far as a Roosters debut is concerned, but Tedesco can look forward to plenty of cheers in the home opener on Friday night against the Bulldogs.
LEARNING FROM LOSSES
If anything, Round 1 was an excellent learning curve for the new-look Roosters.
There were plenty of lessons learned and it’s best to learn them early on in the season.
The challenge doesn’t get any easier this weekend and the Roosters will be ready for a big match with another large forward pack.
The focus shifts to Round 2 now as we look for a big performance over the Bulldogs on our home ground!
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