Captain Boyd Cordner has challenged his Sydney Roosters teammates to use Saturday's defensive effort against Melbourne as a platform from which to launch their bid for the NRL title.
Saturday's narrow loss to the minor premiers in waiting was Cordner's first club game in 10 weeks, during which time he has battled knee and calf injuries, but the influential back-rower has declared himself in prime shape for the run in to next month's finals.
The Roosters host a dangerous Wests Tigers on Saturday at Allianz Stadium and will maintain their push for a top-two finish should they down the joint venture.
They will be buoyed by Saturday's showing in Melbourne, even though a late Joe Stimson try stole victory after Luke Keary's field goal looked to have secured a Roosters win.
That was the only time the Roosters' defensive line was breached in the game; the Storm's other four-pointer coming through a Suliasi Vunivalu penalty try.
"We've got to use that as a platform now; we need to get better, we can't go backwards from here, we need to use that as our standard," Cordner said of his side's improved defensive showing.
"We were aggressive and you're going to have to be aggressive against a team like Melbourne, especially at their home ground. We really took it to them for 80 minutes - I don't think we let off at all.
"We leaked way too many points against Manly [the week before]. That second half we didn't turn up and we really wanted to get that right."
Cordner has battled a knee injury all year, and it led to him damaging his calf in Origin II.
He played game three, but was clearly not 100 per cent, and missed seven club matches before returning last weekend.
"I would've loved to have been playing, but you do get that sometimes post Origin," Cordner said.
"For my body, it was really good, it was the best thing for me. When it [the knee] flares up a bit they monitor it, but I'm feeling good. I was 100 per cent going into that [Melbourne] game and I pulled up really good out of it, so I suppose that's positive signs.
"I feel like a footy player again, which is good."
Fullback Michael Gordon has been named to return from a pectoral injury this weekend, relegating in-form deputy Connor Watson to the bench against the Tigers.
The Roosters have proven a massive bogey side for the Tigers in recent years and have won the past nine clashes between the two clubs.
Yet Cordner warned his troops not to become complacent, particularly after the Tigers' superb comeback against Manly at Leichardt last weekend.
"There's no easy games in the NRL, so it doesn't really matter who you play, especially with the Tigers putting in a performance knocking off Manly on the weekend," Cordner said.
"Some people say that they don't have much to play for but as a player I know they'll want to be finishing off the year pretty strong and getting that momentum going into next year.
"They can't make the finals so they can be more dangerous with how they play, a bit carefree and can go after things a bit more."
