Dragons coach Anthony Griffin admits he was "surprised" to see Roosters counterpart Trent Robinson wield the selection axe on young half Sam Walker ahead of Tuesday's Anzac Day showdown.
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Robinson sprung a selection curve-ball on in opting to pair Golden Boot-winner Joey Manu with Luke Keary in the halves at the expense of Walker for the annual clash.
The hotly debated call has dominated the lead-up to the match, with Griffin saying it wasn't one he'd anticipated.
"I thought it was a surprise," Griffin said.
"Obviously Keary goes to halfback and he's a really dangerous runner. Manu's is one of the best runners in the game.
"I'd imagine they'll be coming through the middle there. For both those guys, it's their natural game to try and run the football.
"It won't change us too much but there's got to be a real individual focus, particularly on Manu. He's going to get the ball a little bit more down the middle of the field.
"They've obviously thought long and hard about their team and I think they're more dangerous with Manu and Keary together.
"They've played a lot together over the years and played very well together so they're really dangerous."
Robinson's change-up comes on the back of a 22-12 loss to the Sharks last week, the Roosters second on the bounce to sit 3-3 on the year.
It's seen whispers of discontent in Walker's camp emerge, but Griffin dismissed any suggestion the Roosters were showing signs of vulnerability.
"No not at all," he said.
"They're probably a little bit like us, they've had a couple of losses and they're desperate for a win.
"They're playing on their home ground, it'll be a big crowd and the Roosters love a big stage. They get that on Tuesday, so most things are in their favour.
"This game's different to any other game in the season, I didn't really appreciate how big the game was until I came here.
"Both teams obviously circle this one on the calendar and both clubs love playing each other on the day. It's more than just a fixture game.
"The key to this game, like any final or a big game, is obviously the start. The Roosters are a big powerful side, they play really fast and they like to get on the front foot.
"It's a big match and the opposition are a fast starter, so the first 15-20 minutes is really important."
The Dragons will be desperate to find a response to back-to-back heart-breakers against the Titans and Raiders, but Griffin insists his side isn't far off a big scalp.
"We've been really close, obviously, which is frustrating," Griffin said.
"In both games we put ourselves in a position to win them. The game [last week] could have gone either way, but we just let that one slip.
"It's not an attitude thing, they've shown terrific attitude and commitment for the last couple of weeks. There's just been a couple of big moments in the games that we haven't been able to grab hold of.
"The way we've been able to scramble and control our try line has been great, but there's just been one or two lapses and we've come out on the other end of it, unfortunately.
"We've just got to keep improving and take our lessons out of that. Despite a couple of losses, we've done some really good things and we want to keep building our game.
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Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
