Former Sydney Roosters star Cooper Cronk believes the tri-colours must force Cronulla Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall to make as many tackles as possible ahead of their sudden-death meeting on Saturday night.
Trindall dislocated his shoulder in Round 24, but made a miraculous return last week in the Sharks' Elimination Final against the Cowboys.
The crafty playmaker looked in a world of discomfort, but managed to get through the match in a gutsy performance and do enough to engineer a 26-16 win.
Trindall has been one of the top halves in the competition this year, and sits in first place for try assists with 31, forming a lethal halves pairing with Nicho Hynes who has 23 of his own.
Somehow Trindall was only made to make ten tackles, missing three, despite it being no secret he was wincing in pain throughout the clash and not being at 100 per cent.
Cronk knows a thing or two about playing through injury, and made an incredible appearance in the 2018 Grand Final with a 15cm fracture in his scapula with the Roosters.
His presence alone was enough to get the tri-colours moving in the right direction and secure the title against the Storm.
Similarly to Cronk's influence on the Roosters, Trindall is crucial to the Sharks' success and will play a massive role if they are to compete for the trophy on the first weekend of October.
The Cowboys didn't capitalise on the advantage last week, but Cronk is urging the Roosters to explore his side of the field more often for scoring opportunities.
“There is a little bit of an art trying not to get involved as much as you can,” Cronk said on SEN's Kick Off.
“You gotta understand the game style of the opposition, where they like to play, where some of their back rowers sit and whether you have to make a tackle or not.
“But I think this is a chance for the Roosters to really power through the halves of the Sharks, like you've got Nicho Hynes on one side and yeah, they just can't miss the mark.
“Trindall only made less than a dozen tackles on the weekend, and I think you've gotta target him. It'll probably be Siua Wong on that side; you gotta go inside shoulder, outside shoulder.
“So, if the Roosters win, I think they've gotta set the game up in the first 20 minutes, just play short balls to the back rower, make Trindall make tackles.
“And as we saw on the weekend, he was brave, like he was hanging on by a thread, but if he makes 20 tackles, he's gonna miss a couple. It's probably gonna lead to a try or a quick play the ball.
“I definitely think the Roosters need to expose it."
The Roosters came off a highly entertaining loss to the Penrith Panthers in Week 1, narrowly succumbing to defeat and forcing the tri-colours to do it the hard way and play in the semis.
The winner of the knockout clash will face a well-rested Dolphins outfit for a place in the Grand Final.
The Roosters will face the Sharks at 7:50pm on Saturday night.
