The Roosters sit just one win outside the eight but three more injury blows have made the task of sneaking into the finals that much tougher.
With Sitili Tupouniua and Billy Smith gone for the season with knee injuries and Siosiua Taukeiaho out for at least a month with a facial fracture, the Roosters will need every ounce of their renowned fighting qualities to get to the play-offs for a sixth straight year.
The Knights have won just one of five since their round 13 bye and given up 156 points in the process, a worrying sign for Adam O'Brien, although with games against the Bulldogs, Tigers and Titans still to come they could yet get on a late roll.
With four of their remaining seven games to be played at home the Knights will be determined to give their loyal fans something to cheer about even if the finals prove a bridge too far,
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The Rundown
Team news
Knights: Utility Kurt Mann's leg injury will keep him sidelined for another week, with Phoenix Crossland added to the 17. Hymel Hunt comes onto the wing for his first game of the season. Tyson Frizell (ribs) and Edrick Lee (foot) suffered injuries against Manly but will play, while Simi Sasagi (ribs) is replaced on the bench by Brodie Jones.
Roosters: Joey Manu (quad) is out with Drew Hutchison taking his place in the centres, with Manu's original replacement, Adam Keighran, reverting back to the bench an hour before kick off. Luke Keary (concussion symptoms) and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (hamstring) are back on deck in a huge boost for the Roosters. Mid-season recruit Matt Lodge comes into the starting side to fill the void left by Siosiua Taukeiaho (cheekbone). Nat Butcher moves to the second row to cover for Sitili Tupouniua (knee).
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Key match-up
Kalyn Ponga v James Tedesco: Two great fullbacks, two great leaders. Ponga had the last laugh in Origin with a magnficent display in the decider and he'll be out to get another one over Tedesco here. Ponga is averaging 135 metres per game this season but his influence extends way beyond the bare statistics. Tedesco was superhuman backing up for the Roosters on Saturday with 191 running metres and a couple of tries. Both men will dig deep into their bag of tricks in search of victory and their showdown should be worth the price of admission alone.
Stat Attack
The Roosters have five players in the top 50 for metres run in 2022, the best being James Tedesco (3346), who sits behind only Dylan Edwards (3745). Roosters winger Daniel Tupou is 13th in the NRL with 2428 metres while Joey Manu is 27th with 2186m, Siosuia Taukeiaho 31st with 2139m and Angus Crichton 41st with 1982. The only Knight inside the top 50 is tireless prop David Klemmer in 42nd on the table with 1971 metres from his 13 games.
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