League: There's only one Freddy Fittler

By PETER JESSUP

The Roosters will win Sunday's NRL grand final by virtue of one factor where they cannot be matched - Brad Fittler.

In his final game of a career that has reached the absolute peak of achievement in league, Fittler can be expected to stand up, respond to pressure and pull a trick that will decide a game that promises to be an all-time great.

He is the quintessential league player - tough, fast, clever with the ball, and has a kicking game and the vision to know when to use each of his skills.

On Sunday, Fittler may as well play in a dinner suit for the first 40 minutes as the forwards sort out the intimidation stakes. But in the back end of a game that should be extremely close, expect the man called Freddy to turn things the Roosters' way.

The sides are evenly matched, though they pursue different angles of attack.

The Roosters rely on aggressive defence, with turnovers from tackles bringing the open play they like and with gang-tackles that restrict an opposition to their own territory then bring errors or penalties through frustration.

They also like to attack around the scrum, with Brett Finch running and back-up from Craig Wing and Craig Fitzgibbon, or with their speedsters timing in from the back.

The Roosters regard themselves as the fittest team in the competition and will back themselves to come home the stronger.

The Bulldogs rely on the powerful bursts of destruction delivered by Willie Mason and bench players Roy Asotasi and Sonny Bill Williams.

They lay a straight platform through Steve Price and Mark O'Meley, then try to work quick play-the-balls that set the opposition on the back foot before breaking the line, then supporting each other. Their back-up is the best in the game. It's a matter of holding those line-breaks, many of which emanate from off-loads by Price, Williams or Mason.

Both sides have an unusual frailty. They are both used to front-running - they don't like coming from behind, possibly because they are simply not used to it. In the five games the Roosters lost this season they were behind at halftime.

The Dogs also lost five games in the round-robin, and in three of those they were behind at the break. Against Wests they were level before going down.

But the qualifying final against the Cowboys put the spotlight on their vulnerability. The Queenslanders led 18-6 at the break, got their tails up in the second half and forced the Dogs into frustration and error.

There was the unusual sight of captain Steve Price niggling with tacklers as the game slipped away from them.

There remains doubt about whether Price will take any part. And if he does, how long will his knee stand up to the intensity of the fastest game of the year? Most coaches would be reluctant to go into such a game with a player carrying an injury that may rule him out early and reduce the roster to 16, thereby handing the fuel advantage to the opposition.

Price, as skipper and the team's best ground-gainer, is an exception, of course, and will be given until the last minute to declare himself fit.

That uncertainty and the disruption that may follow will not have helped their preparation and nor will his absence from the training park.

It remains to be seen whether Dogs coach Steve Folkes has been foxing - he was never going to stand up on Monday and declare his skipper was out of it.

The Roosters will lose tackling strength with Luke Ricketson suspended and others will have to pick up his work.

They lose versatility without Chris Flannery, also expected to drop out after surgery on Monday for a ruptured testicle, an injury that makes your eyes water just thinking about it.

Expect both teams to attack down the wings, the Roosters versus Matt Utai with bombs, the Dogs versus Chris Walker with big, hard runners.

Expect massive, hurting hits from Mason and Williams, Adrian Morley and Jason Cayless.

Expect brilliant breaks from Roosters centre Justin Hodges and fullback Anthony Minichiello and expect Dogs fullback Luke Patten to cut them down centimetres short of scoring.

Expect big dummy-half runs from Utai and Willie Tonga to run straight over the top of Shannon Hegarty.

Then watch for Fittler to come into the game, to win it with a 40/20 kick like the one he produced against the Warriors in the 2002 grand final, or a try between the posts such as the one that turned the game against the Cowboys.