The brutal sessions that inspired the Roosters

A week after they were bullied by the Penrith pack, the Roosters responded in kind with a mauling of Manly’s middles that was set up by brutal “no holds barred” training sessions where players ripped into each other.

The physical response on Saturday night was no accident, with the forwards keen to make a statement after they were well contained by the Panthers in the qualifying final.

The tone was set in the first two carries with both prop forwards charging into the line which unfortunately knocked Tolu Koula out of the contest and forced Jake Trbojevic off for an HIA which he passed.

The Roosters didn’t let up after that, finishing the night with 337 more running metres as James Tedesco carved up in his milestone match.

“All the boys came in and took their medicine and really ripped into each other,” bench prop Spencer Leniu said after the game.

“That was one of the hardest weeks we’d had, almost pre-season vibes. We were just ripping into each other to flick that switch. I am just happy all that work paid off.

“It is always tough love there. We got a reality check last week. We just needed to step it up a notch. That is what we did at training, led by Jared coming back this week.

“He’s ripping into the boys, and if he is then everyone else is too. It’s a credit to how hard we worked this week.

“It was literally (no holds barred). It was probably one of the hardest weeks I’ve had. I’m just really grateful all the hard work paid off and it turned out. We were really physical out there, and that was a reflection of how we trained.”

Leniu credited veteran enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for lifting standards at training, with the warrior prop keen to make a statement in his first game back from a three-game ban.

“It’s a bit of everyone, but no doubt he is definitely the guy that sets it,” he said.

“He sets the smoke and it just catches fire with everyone else. Our Cup boys who are not playing, they were running that hard, running over us and pumping us, tackling us hard as well. It’s a big team effort, an all-in effort.

“Jared rips in every single time he touches that paddock. It was a different beast this week, just because of how we played against Penrith.

“We just took our medicine. It was a hard review watching all that stuff. We just took it on the chin and we had to step up after last week. We did that this week.”

The desire to push themselves to the limit at training was perfectly summed up by Victor Radley who was determined to return to the field just three weeks after he fractured his scapula against the Raiders.

He not only started, but he also opened the scoring before he was taken off after 30 minutes to rest up before the trip to Melbourne.

“It’s unbelievable. He’s just a mad unit,” Leniu beamed.

“The whole week he is like ‘nah, just chuck an injection in, numb it up and I’ll be right’. That’s what he was saying all week and I was like ‘maybe just chill, we’ll win this week and you come in next week’.

“But it’s a credit to him. He’s just a hard person, hard-nosed. For him to come in and put the team first, it’s a credit to his character and his person.

“I love being beside him. He makes me feel 10-feet tall like Jared and all the other boys. To have him in our side gives us a boost. It is a credit to him and his character.”

The Roosters had an eight-day turnaround into the Manly game but only have six days to prepare for the Storm.

However, that won’t change how they approach the preliminary final, with Leniu expecting more fireworks at training.

“That’s just how we have to prepare for these games. And finals games is win at all costs,” he declared.

“If that means we have to bang each other at training, then we have to bang each other at training. That training intensity won’t be any different this week.”