As the State of Origin period approaches, the Sydney Roosters are determined to improve their effort areas and return to their formidable best, especially amid a congested competition where wins are at a premium.
A Friday night trip to the home of the reigning Premiers, the Penrith Panthers, serves as the perfect litmus test, with captain James Tedesco and enforcer Victor Radley explaining the team knows what it will take to improve on recent form and defeat the competition heavyweights.
Tedesco: 'It's A New Challenge'
Regarding concerns surrounding the Roosters lacklustre attack, Tedesco remains confident the side will find their groove in the upcoming fixtures.
"We know it's easily fixable, we've just got to keep working on it at training and trusting it when we get into a game," he said.
"We’re having good discussions about it ... We know what it feels like, it's a good chance to go out and get it done against a top team."
With the Tricolours' second bye coming up in just two weeks, the captain is intent on seeing positive changes against Penrith and St. George Illawarra Dragons before the break.
"We have two weeks to fix it, it's pretty clear when you look back at the footage what we need to work on."
Radley: 'We Need To Step Up This Week'
Lock forward Victor Radley holds a similar view to his captain, believing the Roosters can take lessons from the weekend and instantly convert them into a response against the Panthers.
"We know how we want to play, and we know how we can beat them,"
Now we've got to stand up and do it.
Victor Radley
The 25-year-old also threw his support behind the Roosters new-look halves combination of Luke Keary and Joseph Manu, praising their defensive resolve and explaining that the pair are up for this week's challenge.
"It wasn't our spine combination, it's a team game, we weren't physical enough on the weekend as a team," he said.
"They are working really hard, they're really good, I think they've been good in defence as well. Joey's locked down that right edge too."
The Roosters forward is also excited to see what returning young-gun Billy Smith has to offer for the remainder of the season, with the Easts starlet impressing at centre in his first display of the season.
"He was great, he was our best player on the weekend, he was our most physical," Radley said.
"It's good to see him back in the NRL, he played a few games at the [North Sydney] Bears that I watched him in, and he was on there too," he explained.
"I've always known he's a quality player and he showed it on the weekend again."
The Sydney Roosters will take on the Penrith Panthers this Friday night at BlueBet Stadium in a must-win encounter before the Origin period commences. Get your tickets now!
