The Sydney Roosters will need to be on their toes on Sunday afternoon when they go against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Allianz Stadium.
With both sides entering Round 9 on the back of a loss, the Roosters will be hot on the hunt for a win in front of their home fans.
The Sea Eagles are a side that possess plenty of strike power and have a number of dangerous weapons at their disposal.
A recent stretch of losses for the Sea Eagles should have the Roosters on high alert and on their feet if they're any chance of pushing their 2018 win tally to five.
Sydney Roosters v Manly Sea Eagles, 4pm Sunday at Allianz Stadium
Team Talk with Matt King
THE WINNING MATCH-UP
While it's a case of match-ups galore in Round 9, none will be more key than the battle between the runners when Luke Keary goes head-to-head with interim five-eighth Dylan Walker.
Covering for injury on Sunday, Walker is no stranger to the five-eighth roll and will look to use it to utilise his speed and strength in the middle of the field.
While Keary possesses the same skill with his running game, he probably has a one-up on Walker with his play-making ability.
Either way he'll need to be on his toes if he's going to keep a muzzle on his opposing half.
Last Time We Met The Sea Eagles
TEAM LISTS
Roosters: 1 James Tedesco, 2 Joseph Manu, 3 Latrell Mitchell, 4 Mitchell Aubusson, 5 Blake Ferguson, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Cooper Cronk, 8 Zane Tetevano, 9 Jake Friend (c), 10 Dylan Napa, 11 Boyd Cordner (c), 12 Ryan Matterson, 13 Isaac Liu
Interchange: 14 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 15 Siosiua Taukeiaho, 16 Nat Butcher, 17 Victor Radley
Reserves: 18 Sitili Tupouniua, 19 Kurt Baptiste, 20 Reece Robinson, 21 Frank-Paul Nuuausala
Sea Eagles: 1 Tom Trbojevic, 2 Matthew Wright, 3 Moses Suli, 4 Brian Kelly, 5 Akuila Uate, 6 Dylan Walker, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8 Addin Fonua-Blake, 9 Apisai Koroisau, 10 Martin Taupau, 11 Joel Thompson, 12 Shaun Lane, 13 Jake Trbojevic
Interchange: 14 Lewis Brown, 15 Frank Winterstein, 16 Lloyd Perrett, 17 Taniela Paseka
Reserves: 18 Tom Wright, 19 Jackson Hastings, 20 Tevita Funa, 21 Toafofoa Siple
KEY INFO
MATCH TAGS:
#NRLRoostersManly #Represent #RiseUp
BROADCAST:
Nine Network
Fox League
LIVE PASS
TICKETS
Head-to-head: Played 130; Sea Eagles 84 wins, Roosters 44 wins, 2 draws
Matches at venue: Played 23; Sea Eagles 15 wins, Roosters 8 wins
2017 results: Sea Eagles won 18-12 at Allianz Stadium in round 5 and 36-18 at Lottoland in round 22
Points per game: Roosters 17.3; Sea Eagles 20.5
Points conceded per game: Roosters 15; Sea Eagles 25.1
VERDICT
While the Roosters recent record over the Sea Eagles isn't in their favour, they'll be hungry when they take to the field on Sunday afternoon and the opposition wouldn't change that hunger.
The Sea Eagles are a side that can compete with any NRL outfit on their day, so the Roosters will need to work hard and be at their red hot best.
