Resurgent Roosters Confident in Fairytale Finals Finish

After winning eight straight to book an unlikely finals berth in 2022, the Roosters are confident they can once again defy the odds and find themselves among the September action.

The Tricolours' season looked all but over after a loss to the Broncos saw them slump to 14th after Round 22 but three consecutive wins have them sitting two wins away from a place in the eight.

While everyone else is already eyeing the possibility of a do-or-die clash with their arch-rival Rabbitohs in Round 27, Trent Robinson’s men have pledged to stick to the process and focus on making it four straight against Wests Tigers on Sunday.

“Being in a similar situation last year sort of helps and I know it's a cliche but we're just going with that mentality of just one game at a time,” Roosters forward Nat Butcher told the media on Saturday.

“When you focus all your energy and effort into that week and then you play as hard as you can, you get the result and then you just go again for the next week.

“That pressure has also freed us up a little bit. I feel like we're not as tight at training and then producing that on the field in the game.

“We're just playing our footy, playing our strengths and letting the result take care of itself.

"You obviously don't choose to be in a situation like we are, but it is what it is and we’ve just got to come up with the wins."

After he helped Roosters string together eight straight wins to claw their way back to last year's finals, Robinson is also expected to welcome back 21-year-old halfback Sam Walker (ACL sprain) for his first game since Round 7.

In pleasing signs for the Roosters, Walker got through his second 80 minutes performance in NSW Cup last weekend, however a battle for the No. 7 jersey looms with Drew Hutchison steering the side to three-straight wins alongside Luke Keary in the halves.

“He’s looking good at training. He's tough to come up against, he's obviously on that right edge with the reserves and then I've been on the left,” Butcher said.

“He does throw a lot of questions at you at training and he's looking good, back to the full Sam Walker.

“He just brings that X-factor and carefree footy. He throws those long balls, puts in the grubbers, does a lot of things that you don't expect and have to react to and that's probably been his best attribute coming into the NRL and why I love playing with him.

“But in saying that I think Drew (Hutchison) has done such a great job, he's in career best form at the moment.

“I love seeing him not only step up and do a job but really execute his role and he’s been one of our best players on the field for the past couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, after the Roosters suffered a big blow in Friday's win over the Eels with James Tedesco now undergoing concussion protocols, Butcher has full confidence in Golden Boot winner Joey Manu to step seamlessly into the No. 1 role.

“You never want to see that...especially Teddy being our captain so that was sad to see, but hopefully he just gets that rest that he needs and can come back whenever it is and play with us again,” he said.

“When you’ve got Joey Manu, you know he’s 1B, Teddy being 1A.

"He's such a great player what he does for New Zealand and then when we do get him for a couple of weeks throughout that Origin period there at fullback, he really executes his role there.”