This will be the 199th time these two bitter rivals come head to head and while the Roosters’ season and week has been full of headlines and their finals hopes are non-existent, you can bet your bottom dollar they will fire up for this clash.
Yes they are done for the year and likely wooden spooners. Yes, their coach, good mate and club legend Brad Fittler has been shown the door at season’s end. And yes they have lost the reliable and inspirational captain Craig Fitzgibbon to injury.
But as South Sydney tries to pull a rabbit out of their hat in a late charge for the finals the Roosters would love nothing more than to pull their pants down and trip them up to quash their dreams.
The tri-colours are still in last place on the ladder, still a win away from the second-last Sharks but a horrible differential puts them effectively a win-and-a-half out of the spoon position.
