No team has discovered the right algorithm to defend its title since the Broncos beat St George in the 1992 and 1993 grand finals. Loading That dynasty came at a time when the the competition was almost unrecognisable compared to today’s; a time when the salary cap had been operating, and very loosely so, since 1990. The Broncos’ 1993 premiership-winning side had more players who hadn’t played international and Origin football than those who had. Debate about whether a premiership team can defend its title is an easy pre-season storyline but, after a train-wreck off-season of explicit sex tapes and alleged sexual assaults, it’s a storyline that’s been largely unexamined. There’s a distinct feeling among rival clubs that if there was ever a team in the modern-era capable of achieving it, it’s the Roosters this year. Former Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston, who in 2015 piloted his side to its first premiership, is prepared to declare it.

“They will be the first team to go back to back,” Thurston, now an expert caller for Channel Nine, says. “It’s hard to go past them. They have so much strike, they can win a game on individual brilliance when they need to. Whether it’s [Luke] Keary kicking a field goal, or Teddy [James Tedesco] or Latrell (Mitchell) scoring a try, or Daniel Tupou jumping over someone to score in the corner, they are pretty much unstoppable. [Roosters coach] Trent Robinson is a genius. They have the best spine in the competition and there hasn’t been too many roster changes.” Miracle workers: Cronk with the Roosters' medical staff, who got the halfback in shape to take the field for the grand final despite a badly broken shoulder blade. Credit:NRL Photos The Roosters have made four key personnel changes in the off-season. Winger Blake Ferguson has gone but in comes England international Ryan Hall and Brett Morris, who at 32 is no longer the game’s quickest player but is one of its most experienced. His three tries against Wigan in the World Club Challenge suggest he’s one of its best finishers. They also welcome Test and NSW edge forward Angus Crichton, who they signed more than a year ago, from Souths. Because of the vice-like pressure of the salary cap, teams that win the premiership are often shedding players before they even win it. Souths won the premiership in 2014 and lost Sam Burgess and Ben Te'o the next year. After the Storm won in 2017, they lost Cronk, Jordan McLean and Tohu Harris. It makes their effort in reaching last year’s decider more admirable.

But the most significant signing for the Roosters isn’t a player. It’s attack coach Adam O’Brien, who the club pinched from the Storm early last season. O’Brien is widely regarded as the next NRL-coach-in-waiting. The Roosters signed him early last season, long before it became public. “Adam will be be a great inclusion for the Roosters,” offers retired Storm fullback Billy Slater. “Trent Robinson will learn something from him.” Starring role: Latrell Mitchell with the trophy after the Roosters' win over the Storm. Credit:NRL Photos When the Storm won the premiership in 2017 with a rejuvenated attack, much of the credit was handed to Matthew Johns, a regular consultant who suggested that winning the wrestle in the ruck could only take them so far.

That season, Melbourne audaciously started passing within their own half. Wingers Suli Vunivalu and Josh Addo-Carr were the beneficiaries with a glut of tries. Johns might’ve come up with the theory, but O’Brien made it work. He has the ability this season, according to Slater, to do the same with Mitchell and his centre partner Joseph Manu. Loading “When you look at attack, you have to look at your strengths and for the Roosters that is their centres,” Slater says. “You want to get the ball to them as much as possible. Adam will unlock them.” The Roosters’ attack received plenty of criticism throughout last season. Their former halves coach, Immortal Andrew Johns, openly spoke about it in his commentary for Nine. He's no longer at the club.

In truth, the Roosters attack rarely hummed. They tackled their way to the premiership, especially in the preliminary final against Souths and then with a shock-and-awe display in the opening 20 minutes of the decider against Melbourne. "Our season was built on defence," Robinson said after the decider. "We build our house after laying the foundations.” So here's a daunting thought: the Roosters won the premiership without playing their best footy. Their attack can get better. “That’s quite scary when you think about it,” Thurston says. "They can grind out wins or blow teams off the park.” Cronk says he wasn’t concerned last year by the outside noise about the side’s attack. He and Robinson knew it was a work in progress.

“This year, it doesn’t above to be about building combinations,” he says. “If I step off my left foot, this is what I want you to do so let’s rep that a hundred times so come the 78th minute you know it. We’ve already done that over 12 months now. “While everyone gets judged on performances, the most important thing for me in those situations is to build combinations and relationships and our performance builds from that. If you look at our year, that’s what happened. This year, what we’ve got in our favour is that we have those relationships. Strike power: Fullback James Tedesco is one of the most dangerous players in the game. Credit:AAP "If you look at our backline, we’ve got everyone in a different position who can complement one another. I’m not the most speedy, skilful player while Keary can get across defenders. I play straight. Tedesco has the ability to get across the field and pass. We’ve got big outside backs who can hit holes but also beat players one on one …” Psychology as much as roster will be fundamental to the Roosters' title defence.

Thurston noticed a dramatic change in the opposition the season after the Cowboys won the competition. “Each week, you notice that every team plays better than what they did against you compared to how they played against other sides,” he recalls. “Their completion rates were better; all the statistics for teams playing us were better compared to what it was against other teams. It’s just the way it is: teams get up to play you.” Loading In some ways, the Broncos’ success in the early 1990s remains instructive: they started the 1993 slowly before hitting their straps when it mattered most to beat the Dragons a second time. No side has gone closer in recent years to defending their title than the Storm. After winning the grand final in 2012, they won their first seven matches the following season before the Origin period dragged them back to the field.

There’s now a belief at the Storm that momentum at the end of the season instead of dominating from round one is critical. It’s certainly something they still think about at Souths. In 2017, Melbourne gathered momentum late in the season, winning their last 10 matches, scoring on average 32 points and conceding just eight. In 2018, they struggled in the later rounds, only just beating lowly Gold Coast and then losing to Penrith at home in the final round to hand the minor premiership to the Roosters. Coach Michael Maguire drove his players like huskies to the premiership in 2014. By the time they reached the Roosters, the defending premiers, in the preliminary final, they were unstoppable. Will Cooper Cronk and Nick Politis be replicating this post-grand final hug later this year? Credit:NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous “We crossed over in that match,” offers former Roosters fullback Anthony Minichiello. “That was Souths’ time and ours was over.”