There's plenty of talking points for the Tricolours heading into Round 19, so let's go through them before we take to the field against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Match: Roosters v Sharks
Round 19 -
home Team
Roosters
3rd Position
away Team
Sharks
8th Position
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
AUBUSSON 303
There is no bigger talking point this week than that of Mitchell Aubusson, who will take to the field for the 303rd time and break the record for most Sydney Roosters appearances.
He passes Club legend Anthony Minichiello's 302 Club appearances, making Aubusson the standalone leader with a number of matches still to be played in 2020.
Aubusson has received much praise from teammates, coaches and club legends alike over the past few weeks as he enters elite territory for the Roosters before his retirement at the end of the season.
"It's a very important milestone for him and the club," Head Coach Trent Robinson said of Aubusson's 303rd match.
"We've got a great group there with Luke Ricketson, Anthony Minichiello and now Mitchell Aubusson that typify what we want to be as a club."
Searching for Greatness | Trent Robinson
THE NEW CAPTAINS
With Captains Jake Friend and Boyd Cordner coming out of the side in round 19, Mitchell Aubusson will mark his milestone game with the captaincy nod alongside five-eighth Luke Keary.
Aubusson was fittingly given the nod as captain and has experience with the role throughout his career, while Luke Keary embraces the challenge for the first time in his first grade career.
What better time to be named captain than in your 303rd game for the Club?
The announcement was made last night when the Round 19 squad was updated to 19 men.
Aubusson shines atop Roosters list
CRICHTON'S THUNDEROUS RETURN
While the Roosters have enjoyed a number of players returning to the side in recent weeks, Angus Crichton's return has come with plenty of positive noise as he's picked up right where he left off.
His first appearance on return saw him coming off the bench against the Canberra Raiders, for which he received praise for his tough running and slick passing with the ball in hand.
The following week saw him line-up against the Newcastle Knights at the SCG, making his maiden appearance in the starting lock position for the Roosters.
He put on a damaging performance, scoring a whopping 82 fantasy points and polling the second most votes for the Fan Voted Man Of The Match.
He was updated to the starting line-up again in last night's squad update, which will give the Roosters community another chance to see Crichton in action.
MANU GETS ANOTHER SHOT AT FULLBACK
The last time we saw Joseph Manu at fullback was in Round 7 against the St George Illawarra Dragons, and he looked right at home in that performance.
Manu played a string of games at fullback last season when James Tedesco was on State Of Origin duty, so it's far from an unfamiliar position for the Roosters centre.
His miracle pass against the Dragons to set up Jared Waerea-Hargreaves should provide fans with all they need to get excited about Manu for tonight's match.
Steggles Try of the week | Round 7
A SEVENTEEN MONTH HIATUS
With a disrupted and shortened season in 2020, the Roosters and Sharks have only been scheduled to face each other once at the back end of the season.
Last season they were also only scheduled to face each other once in round 5, which has seen a seventeen month break between the two sides going toe-to-toe.
The Last Time We Met the Sharks was a strong showing for the Roosters at PointsBet Stadium, coming away with a 30-16 win thanks to a scoring spurt early in the second half.
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