Following our clash at Central Coast Stadium in Round 17, a new fan Man Of The Match has emerged in a one-sided Player Poll.
For the first time in the 2017 NRL season, the fans have given Captain Jake Friend the nod for Man Of The Match honours after a gutsy performance against the Sharks.
Friend tackled his heart out on the day, amassing 37 tackles and that was just by the halftime siren!
He'll look for another big performance this week as the Roosters look to topple the in-form South Sydney Rabbitohs on our home turf.
Thanks for voting Roosters fans, and don't forget to vote for your Round 18 Man Of The Match on Saturday morning!
ROUND 17 MAN OF THE MATCH | JAKE FRIEND (C)
RUNNER-UP | LUKE KEARY
SEASON RESULTS
ROUND 1 | LUKE KEARY
ROUND 2 | LUKE KEARY
ROUND 3 | MICHAEL GORDON
ROUND 4 | BOYD CORDNER
ROUND 5 | MITCHELL PEARCE
ROUND 6 | MITCHELL AUBUSSON
ROUND 7 | BOYD CORDNER
ROUND 8 | MITCHELL PEARCE
ROUND 9 | BOYD CORDNER
ROUND 10 | JARED WAEREA-HARGREAVES
ROUND 11 | MITCHELL PEARCE
ROUND 12 | MICHAEL GORDON
ROUND 13 | BOYD CORDNER
ROUND 14 | MITCHELL PEARCE
ROUND 16 | MICHAEL GORDON
ROUND 17 | JAKE FRIEND
Why the Roosters can win: The Bondi boys had won five out of six games heading into last week so it’s hardly panic stations. The fact they will be minus a big Origin contingent makes things harder and will put plenty of pressure on skipper Jake Friend and five-eighth Luke Keary to lead the team around. But even without Napa and Cordner the forward pack still boasts plenty of punch. Young back-rower Ryan Matterson has thrived on some extra responsibility this year and racked up eight tackle busts to go with his 31 tackles and a try. They'll need some senior men around him to lift given the absences in the pack; Jared Waerea-Hargreaves in particular will want to offer more than his 21 tackles (plus four missed tackles) and 110 metres last week.
Why the Rabbitohs can win: More of the same will be the recipe here. You'd expect the Roosters defence to do a better job of shutting down the Bunnies' offloads and precision last-play kicks than Penrith did last week but when executed well both are very hard to stop. Jason Clark (four offloads), Sam Burgess (three), Bryson Goodwin, Angus Crichton, Robbie Farah and Aaron Gray (all two) had no trouble getting the ball away last week but it was halfback Adam Reynolds (four tries created from kicks and two drop outs) that did the damage with his general play kicking and that is the threat the Roosters most need to contain.
