The Sydney Roosters can't rely on the long-awaited return of co-captains Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend to give their NRL side the edge over the competition-leading Storm on Saturday, says coach Trent Robinson.
Cordner hasn't played since aggravating a knee injury in the State of Origin decider for NSW, while a broken hand has kept Friend out since round 18, with the pair to line up at Melbourne's AAMI Park in the top-of-the-table clash.
The Roosters are looking to rebound from a loss to Manly and Robinson said his players couldn't put their feet up just because the star duo were back.
"They're our two captains, two Australian players so they are pretty big inclusions for us," Robinson said on Friday.
"But you can't take a breath and think that they're going to take the load; they're coming back from injuries and they're going to take a week or two to get back into it, so you've got to make sure that you shoulder the load until they get their game fitness."
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The Roosters let a 18-4 lead slip against the Sea Eagles to fall 36-18 and Robinson said his team needed a big improvement to match the NRL pace-setters.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has downplayed the importance of the match as a barometer heading into the finals, saying his team isn't treating it differently to any other game.
"It's a big game but we put as much effort into our preparation every week so we see it as business as usual," Bellamy said.
Bellamy expected Cordner and Friend to have an impact and said his team's defence would need to be at its peak to stop the Roosters' attacking strengths.
Melbourne are again without five-eighth Cameron Munster, with Bellamy saying he may also miss next Saturday's clash with Newcastle due to his ankle injury.
The Queensland star only ran on Friday for the first time since suffering the injury two weeks ago.
