Tweet
Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson admits he's unsure how much his side's disrupted pre-season will affect the players ahead of Saturday's World Club Challenge against Super League champions Wigan.
With 16 of his squad involved in the Rugby League World Cup Robinson was unable to get all of his players back at the same time and will face the Warriors with only a trial fixture against a second-string Newcastle side under their belts.
Ten of their expected 17-man squad played against the Knights in Wyong on Saturday with Mitchell Pearce, Jake Friend, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Daniel Tupou among those involved in the Auckland Nines tournament over the weekend.
Wigan will go into Saturday's encounter having a Super League fixture against Huddersfield and a full-blooded trial fixture against the Warriors as preparation for the NRL premiers.
And Robinson admits it's not ideal for his team to be facing such a strong side without too many miles in the legs, but is confident his side can still beat the tourists and go into the NRL season fully prepared.
"We've tried to work out the impact it will have on the players while respecting the World Club Challenge, given the time off and the way we have trained," Robinson said.
"We want to have a good performance on Saturday and to make sure we are in contention in September-October this year.
"To do that you do a lot of predicting and we have spent many hours talking about it and we'll see where we are Saturday night."
Wigan arrived in Sydney on Monday night and spent Tuesday morning at Redfern Oval where they had an opposed session against South Sydney.
Coach Shaun Wane said it had been hugely beneficial exercise but said he had not been picking the brains of Souths coach Michael Maguire, the man he replaced in the Wigan hotseat, for tips on beating the Roosters.
"It was a good session against Souths, a little bit tasty at times which is just what we needed," Wane said.
"But they did their thing as they wanted certain things out of the session, and so did we. It was just scrimmage, nothing about what the Roosters do and it was beneficial."
With 16 of his squad involved in the Rugby League World Cup Robinson was unable to get all of his players back at the same time and will face the Warriors with only a trial fixture against a second-string Newcastle side under their belts.
Ten of their expected 17-man squad played against the Knights in Wyong on Saturday with Mitchell Pearce, Jake Friend, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Daniel Tupou among those involved in the Auckland Nines tournament over the weekend.
Wigan will go into Saturday's encounter having a Super League fixture against Huddersfield and a full-blooded trial fixture against the Warriors as preparation for the NRL premiers.
And Robinson admits it's not ideal for his team to be facing such a strong side without too many miles in the legs, but is confident his side can still beat the tourists and go into the NRL season fully prepared.
"We've tried to work out the impact it will have on the players while respecting the World Club Challenge, given the time off and the way we have trained," Robinson said.
"We want to have a good performance on Saturday and to make sure we are in contention in September-October this year.
"To do that you do a lot of predicting and we have spent many hours talking about it and we'll see where we are Saturday night."
Wigan arrived in Sydney on Monday night and spent Tuesday morning at Redfern Oval where they had an opposed session against South Sydney.
Coach Shaun Wane said it had been hugely beneficial exercise but said he had not been picking the brains of Souths coach Michael Maguire, the man he replaced in the Wigan hotseat, for tips on beating the Roosters.
"It was a good session against Souths, a little bit tasty at times which is just what we needed," Wane said.
"But they did their thing as they wanted certain things out of the session, and so did we. It was just scrimmage, nothing about what the Roosters do and it was beneficial."