SYDNEY Roosters fans look away now.

If you’re on a high about some of the club’s late-season form, this news will surely take the air out of your tyres.

While the Tricolours wallow down in 15th place on the NRL ladder, Fox Sports Lab reveals the 2016 season could have panned out much, much differently.

The Lab has compiled a “what if?” ladder from all games played this season to date — including Thursday’s extra-time thriller between Canterbury and Manly.

Round 20

We’ve reversed the result of any match decided by four or less points.

In other words, when you ask “what if” your club had just scraped over the line against so and so in that one game way back when, this is where they would now be sitting.

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Titans CEO Graham Annesley joins Ben Ikin, Nathan Ryan and Ben Glover to reveal how the club have built their winning roster, recruitment strategies and the success of Jarryd Hayne.

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For some clubs it’s welcome reading.

The ability of Melbourne and Penrith in particular to win close games has them in a much better position at the back end of the year than if they struggled to grind out a tough one.

If the Storm had lost its close encounters they would be all the way down in eighth spot, instead of sitting pretty atop the standings.

Put it down to the genius and experience of Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk, if you will.

But for the Roosters it’s not all peaches and cream.

BRANDY: How to beat the NRL’s top 5

On eight occasions this year Roosters fans have sat idle as their team let slip a tight game.

They have lost to the Raiders (1 point), Sea Eagles (2 points), Warriors (4 points, extra time), Panthers (4 points), Dragons (2 points), Warriors again (2 points), Bulldogs (4 points), and Eels (4 points) by less than five points.

The Roosters’ smallest winning margin this year has been seven points, recorded against South Sydney in round six.

Put simply, the Chooks don’t know how to win when the going gets tough.

If they had won all eight of those close games, the Roosters would be sitting in fourth — yes, FOURTH — place on the NRL ladder heading into the final three rounds of competition.

Is it luck or habit? We’ll let you be the judge.

All in all there has been 51 games decided by four points or less this season.

This is what the standings would now look like if those results were reversed.

THE 2016 ‘WHAT IF?’ LADDER

1 — Cowboys 34pts (15wins — 5losses — 0 draws, up 4 places)

2 — Raiders 31 (13-6-1, up 2 places)

3 — Broncos 30 (13-7-0, up 3 places)

4 — Roosters 28 (12-8-0, up 11 places)

5 — Sharks 27 (11-8-1, down 3 places)

6 — Tigers 26 (11-9-0, up 3 places)

7 — Bulldogs 26 (11-10-0, down 4 places)

8 — Storm 26 (11-9-0, down 7 places)

9 — Eels 24 (10-10-0, up 4 places)

10 — Sea Eagles 24 (10-11-0, up 1 place)

11 — Warriors 22 (9-11-0, down 3 places)

12 — Panthers 22 (9-11-0, down 5 places)

13 — Titans 19 (7-12-1, down 3 places)

14 — Rabbitohs 18 (7-13-0, no change)

15 — Dragons 16 (6-14-0, down 3 places)

16 — Knights 13 (4-15-1, no change)

Fox Sports Lab is on Twitter:@FoxSportsLab

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