VENUE & TIME: WIN Jubilee Stadium, Friday July 3, 7.35pm (AEST)
COVERAGE: Channel Nine
LAST TIME: Dragons 29 - Roosters 0, at Sydney Football Stadium, Round 7, 2009.
WALKING WOUNDED: The Dragons have lost NSW prop Michael Weyman for up to six weeks with a knee injury suffered in Friday night's win over the Tigers. He joins Jeremy Smith (ankle), Beau Scott (elbow) and Mickey Paea (virus) on the sidelines. Brad Fittler has named an unchanged line-up this week but the Roosters still boast an impressive injury list. Braith Anasta (ankle) and James Aubusson (knee) won't be back this season, while Mark O'Meley (hand) and Anthony Minichiello (ankle) are out indefinitely.
FORM: The Dragons were clinical in their disposal of the Tigers last Friday, scoring a 21-10 victory to remain on top of the NRL ladder. While their early-season success can be largely attributed to a stiffened defence under new coach Wayne Bennett, they showed glimpses of what they can do in attack scoring four-first half tries in a dominant display. The Roosters finally ended their six-match losing streak with a morale-boosting 19-12 victory over Cronulla. It wasn't necessarily pretty but at least Brad Fittler's men showed some pride following a horrendous campaign both on and off the field.
WHO'S HOT: Ben Hornby won man-of-the-match honours last start but he was just one of many Dragons to shine. Jamie Soward continues to thrive under Bennett's guidance, while Brett Morris threatened with every touch against the Tigers and must surely be among the names being bandied about by NSW selectors. Speaking of Origin selection, Roosters half-back Mitchell Pearce chose the perfect time to have his best game of the year in the win over Cronulla, with Peter Wallace seemingly on the outer after struggling for the Blues.
WE THINK: The Roosters showed they still have some fight left with a gritty last-up win over the Sharks, but in boxing parlance they are stepping up a couple of weight divisions this week. While it won't be as one-sided as their previous meeting, the Dragons will grind out another victory and continue their merry march towards the finals - Dragons by 15.
Dragons:
Darius Boyd 2. Brett Morris 3. Matt Prior 4. Matt Cooper 5. Wendell Sailor 6. Jamie Soward 7. Ben Hornby (c) 8. Justin Poore 9. Dean Young 10. Jon Green 11. Jarrod Saffy 12. Ben Creagh 13. Neville Costigan
Interchange: 14. Dan Hunt 15. Trent Merrin 16. Mathew Head 17. Jason Nightingale
Roosters:
1. Sam Perrett, 2. Sandor Earl, 3. Mitchell Aubusson, 4. Ben Jones, 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6. Setaimata Sa, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. Nate Myles, 9. Jake Friend, 10. Lopini Paea, 11. Anthony Cherrington, 12. Willie Mason, 13. Craig Fitzgibbon (c)
Interchange: 14. Shane Shackleton, 15. Frank-Paul Nuuausala, 16. Tom Symonds, 17. Nick Kouparitsas