The Sydney Roosters get their Round 1 rematch on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Wests Tigers at Allianz Stadium.
Both sides are coming off a win in Round 12 and sit on the edge of the top eight at seven and eight respectively.
While the Wests Tigers had a red hot start to their 2018 campaign, the Roosters are on the trail of steady improvement heading past the halfway mark of the season.
Team Talk with Craig Fitzgibbon
KEY MATCH-UP | COOPER CRONK V LUKE BROOKS
The battle of playmakers in Round 13 is one of the most intriguing match-ups of the season, and that's during the State Of Origin break.
Cooper Cronk and Luke Brooks are both well and truly in-form in 2018, but their specialties come in different areas of play.
Cronk gets through more work on the defensive end of the field, while Brooks finds a lot of his game comes through running.
Brooks got the best of Cronk in Round 1, and that will surely be playing on the veterans mind going into a big match.
PLAYED | Cronk: 10 | Brooks: 10
TRY ASSISTS | Cronk: 9 | Brooks: 7
TACKLES | Cronk: 171 | Brooks: 134
Sydney Roosters v Wests Tigers, Sunday 4pm at Allianz Stadium
Roosters: 1. Blake Ferguson, 2. Joseph Manu, 3. Matthew Ikuvalu, 4. Joseph Manu, 5. Daniel Tupou, 6. Luke Keary, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9. Jake Friend (c), 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho, 11. Victor Radley, 12. Ryan Matterson, 13. Isaac Liu
Interchange: 14. Zane Tetevano, 15. Frank-Paul Nuuausala, 16. Kurt Baptiste, 17. Nat Butcher
Reserves: 18. Poasa Faamausili, 19. Lindsay Collins, 20. Mitchell Cornish, 21. Paul Momirovski
Wests Tigers: 1. Tuimoala Lolohea, 2. David Nofoaluma, 3. Esan Marsters, 4. Mahe Fonua, 5. Corey Thompson, 6. Benji Marshall (c), 7. Luke Brooks, 8. Russell Packer, 9. Elijah Taylor, 10. Ben Matulino, 11. Chris Lawrence, 12. Michael Chee-Kam, 13. Matthew Eisenhuth
Interchange: 14. Alex Twal, 15. Josh Reynolds, 16. Josh Aloai, 17. Tim Grant
Reserves: 18. Sauaso Sue, 19. Chris McQueen, 20. Pita Godinet, 21. Kevin Naiqama
Head-to-head: Played 31; Roosters 22 wins, West Tigers 9 wins
Matches at venue: Played 16; Roosters 13 wins, Wests Tigers 3 wins
2017 results: Roosters won 40-18 at Campbelltown Stadium in round 14
Roosters won 22-18 at Allianz Stadium in round 24
Points per game: Roosters 20.7; Wests Tigers 15.7
Points conceded per game: Roosters 15.2; Wests Tigers 14.8
Televised: Live on Nine, Fox League
Match Highlights | Wests Tigers vs Roosters
CONCLUSION
The Round 1 match at ANZ Stadium was the first time the Roosters have lost to the Wests Tigers since 2011.
They've won an incredible 22 out of 31 matches against them, but that does anything but guarantee a win on Sunday afternoon.
Considering the Roosters are short-handed over the State Of Origin break, they will need to be at their best when they face a rejuvenated Tigers outfit.
