Sydney Roosters 2021 draw snapshot

Here is all you need to know about the Sydney Roosters' 2021 Telstra Premiership draw.

The Lowdown

Teams they play twice

Broncos, Cowboys, Dragons, Eels, Knights, Panthers, Rabbitohs, Raiders, Storm

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• The 2021 Telstra Premiership draw
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Teams they play once

Bulldogs, Sea Eagles, Sharks, Wests Tigers, Titans, Warriors

Day-by-day breakdown

Thursday – 4, Friday – 6, Saturday – 10, Sunday – 4

Turnarounds

5 days – 2, 6 days – 9, 7+ days – 12

Kick-off

The Roosters host Manly, likely to be at the SCG depending on the venue's availability, to get their season underway on a Saturday evening before away games against the Tigers and Rabbitohs then return home to face the Warriors in round four.

Six of the Roosters' matches at the SCG are subject to the venue's availability - Round 1, Round 16, Round 19, Round 20, Round 21, Round 24.

Five key match-ups

Rabbitohs (Round 3, ANZ Stadium; Round 24, SCG): The NRL's oldest rivalry is always one that players and fans of both clubs circle in their calendars.

The past eight clashes are split four apiece but in 113 seasons and almost 250 meetings, never have the Roosters been on the wrong side of a score as big or a result as lopsided as the 60-8 one handed to the Roosters in the final round of last season.

The Tricolours will be desperate for revenge come round three at ANZ Stadium.

Storm (round 6, AAMI Park; Round 16, SCG): The two dominant teams of the past decade have produced some high-quality battles in recent years, including a meeting in the 2018 grand final.

The Storm were the only side to down the Roosters twice in the regular season in 2020 and one of just three (along with the Raiders and Panthers) to do so twice all year. That won't sit well with Robinson or his players so expect them to be ready for this one.

Dragons (Round 7, SCG; Round 23, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium): Another traditional clash that wasn't possible last season was the Anzac Day meeting between the Roosters and Dragons.

Despite the two clubs' divergent ladder positions last season, both meetings were fairly closely contested and there is no question the players will be pleased to again be able to honour the Anzacs on this special day.

Cowboys (Round 10, Suncorp Stadium): Despite North Queensland slipping as a force in recent years they have usually put up a huge fight against the Roosters (2020 notwithstanding) with some memorable battles between firebrand Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Cowboys talisman Jason Taumalolo.

The Cowboys memorably ended the Roosters 2017 campaign in a prelim final and the one and only clash between the two this year takes place in Magic Round where the Cowboys will likely enjoy the lion's share of support despite being the "away" side.

Raiders (Round 12, Perth; Round 25, GIO Stadium): Expect the Green Machine to take plenty of focus for Trent Robinson and co. heading into 2021 after beating the Roosters twice in 2020, including a season-ending semi-final at the SCG.

That comes on the back of the Roosters downing Canberra in the 2019 grand final. The two Canberra matches will be important and highly anticipated for other reasons; the first clash is a Roosters home game in Perth while the return bout in Canberra will be the final round of the regular season as the top teams jostle for finals spots.

Toughest stretch

The Roosters' tougher games are fairly well spread out but they have a challenging run into the finals. Over six weeks they host the Eels, Panthers and Rabbitohs and travel to Brisbane and Canberra. They have two five-day turnarounds in the final month.

And another thing ...

Other than the Warriors, the Roosters play every other non-Sydney team away at some point plus have home games at Perth and Brisbane (for Magic Round) in one of their most travel-heavy seasons.

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