Strong Warriors pack can see off tough Roosters

Shaun Johnson brings up his 100th NRL appearance this weekend. Photo / Getty Images

The Roosters stand between the Warriors and a momentum swing into the back end of the season.

A victory would be a massive boost but the quality of the performance on Sunday is just as important.

Not many expect the Warriors to prevail - the Roosters are an intimidating prospect, particularly at home - but who knows what is now possible with the Auckland club?

They've been building steadily over the past three games and their performance against the Storm was top notch. Now it needs to continue; the result may not go their way on Sunday but the performance needs to be solid, to keep up the momentum.

The Roosters are a tough proposition. Their line speed on defence is incredible, particularly on the outside. A lot of teams try to go around them but that usually doesn't work; you need to go through them and control the ruck to have any chance. The Warriors should also throw in the occasional short kick to keep them guessing and negate the rapid line speed.

Centre Michael Jennings has been superb this season, while Blake Ferguson has gone to another level over the past month; he's such a threat with his speed and spatial awareness. James Maloney can be targeted and the Panthers sent traffic at him all game last week. He's not that strong defensively so there could be profit there for the Warriors - though he always seems to play extra well against his old club.

The real heartbeat of the Roosters has been their Kiwi contingent: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Sam Moa, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Sio Siua Taukeiaho. Tuivasa-Sheck has added another dimension in recent weeks with his passing options, scanning for support as he runs across the field. It makes him twice as dangerous.

Moa and Waerea-Hargreaves are key components of a pack that has a good blend of steel, mongrel and skill and can match any other in the NRL.

Kenny-Dowall has been a revelation. The 27-year-old has scored 13 tries in 16 games this season.

And finally, congratulations to Shaun Johnson on reaching 100 NRL games. He's taken a while to develop but has shown great signs over the past few weeks of wanting to go to that next level.