After being upset by the Dolphins in their season-opener last week, the Roosters will be eager to bounce back at home against a Warriors side who fought their way to victory over the Knights in Round 1.
Trent Robinson's side struggled to get things going in attack against the competition newcomers and shot themselves in the foot with a high error rate, while in addition losing 28-18 they had both Victor Radley and Matt Lodge fail head injury assessments, with the latter now set to undergo surgery on a facial injury this week.
The Warriors on the other will be in high spirits after a 20-12 win in which they took the limited opportunities presented to them in attack and defended with true grit through prolonged periods camped in their own half.
All seven of their new signings played well, and in particular their new-look forward pack stood out, with all bar Marata Niukore in the starting unit running for over 100 metres.
The Roosters have won their last five games against the Warriors stretching back to 2018, but across their head-to-head history it's the New Zealand-based side who have a slight advantage, having won 22 of the 44 games, which includes one draw.
Team News
Roosters: Victor Radley was ruled out on Friday after picking up a head knock last week. Trent Robinson has brought Naufahu White into lock but has a few options with Brandon Smith potentially moving to the middle as he has done in recent years at Melbourne. Smith passed a HIA last week and will line up. A huge in for the Roosters with centre Joey Manu named to return from the facial fracture he suffered in the pre-season. Drew Hutchison goes back to the interchange bench and Corey Allan drops to 18th man. Fletcher Baker comes in for Matt Lodge, who has had surgery on a facial fracture suffered in Round 1.
Warriors: Coach Andrew Webster has named an unchanged 17 on the back of a first-up win. Edward Kosi retains his place on the wing with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (calf) facing a month on the sideline. Bayley Sironen is listed among the reserves as he works his way back from a knee injury while Jazz Tevaga (hernia) remains sidelined but could be good to go in Round 3. There were no changes in the 24-hour update.
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Story first published by: NRL.com