The battle of 10th and 11th on the ladder shapes as one of the matches of the round as two of the NRL's powerhouses fight to keep their season alive.
Coming off a heavy defeat to the Broncos and coping with the loss of star playmaker Mitch Moses, the Eels face a monumental challenge to bounce back against a dangerous Roosters outfit.
Brad Arthur's men have lost three of their past four matches to slump from seventh to 10th while the Roosters have won three of their last four to breath new life into their season.
Not only do the Roosters need to keep winning but they also need to give their points differential (-84) a substantial boost in their last three games against the Eels, Wests Tigers and Rabbitohs.
The Eels boast a far healthier differential of +21 and have a guaranteed two points to come from a bye in the final round but winning without their main man Moses will be no easy assignment.
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Team News
Eels: There are no late changes to the Eels line-up an hour before kick off. With Mitch Moses gone for the season, the responsibility of steering the ship falls to Dylan Brown and Daejarn Asi. The return of Maika Sivo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard from suspension provides a timely boost but back-rower Andrew Davey is set to miss the game under concussion protocols. RCG's return allows Joe Ofahengaue to move from prop to lock to cover for Davey.
Roosters: Kiwi prop Jared Warea-Hargreaves is out of the side with acute neck pain, with Fletcher Baker moving from the bench to start. World Cup winner Angus Crichton makes his return from a knee injury suffered in Round 17, with Dylan Napa now a late inclusion on the bench in the team update an hour from kick off. Halfback Sam Walker had been named as 18th Man on Tuesday, but dropped out of the squad when it was trimmed on Thursday along with Corey Allan and Nathan Brown.
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Stat Attack
- Daniel Tupou ran for 223 metres and had four tackle breaks and a try when the Roosters beat the Eels 28-20 in Round 5.
- Eels back-rowers J'maine Hopgood and Bryce Cartwright are equal leaders on the offload tally for 2023 with 49 apiece.
- The Eels have won seven of their past eight games at CommBank Stadium.
- The Roosters have won seven of their past nine games against the Eels.
- Eels winger Maika Sivo has scored 41 tries in 46 games at CommBank Stadium.
- The Roosters have won six from eight at CommBank Stadium.
- Eels winger Sean Russell has scored a try in four consecutive games.
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Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.