Roosters do homework on Mara

‘‘At the start of the year I was a bit slow but my form’s been improving in the last couple of rounds.’’

After marvelling at the most prominent act of bravery displayed in this year’s NRL season, the Sydney Roosters were rummaging around for video of Nathan Friend’s replacement ahead of Saturday’s visit to Mt Smart Stadium.

Friend has started a six-week recuperation after playing 75 minutes of last weekend’s upset victory over the Brisbane Broncos with a broken jaw – a courageous act that has drawn parallels with John Sattler’s legendary refusal to quit the 1970 grand final after suffering a similar injury when leading South Sydney against Manly.

‘‘That’s pretty tough,’’ Roosters hooker Jake Friend said when reflecting on his unrelated namesake’s performance in Auckland last weekend.

While first-year Warrior Friend’s exploits will go down in the club’s history, his stand-in at dummy half has not yet made a name for himself – at least in the Roosters’ estimation.

Alehana Mara, who has made just 10 first grade appearances since debuting against Manly late in the 2010 season, was a virtual mystery man ahead of his first game of the season.

‘‘I don’t know much at all [about Mara],’’ he confessed before the Roosters last hit out before flying to Auckland today.

‘‘We talked about him in the video [session], we’ll watch a bit more video on him and see what he’s like.’’

The 22-year-old Wellingtonian’s inconspicuousness is hardly surprising as Nathan Friend has been a fixture in the Warriors starting lineup since joining the club from the Gold Coast Titans.

In six of the Warriors nine games he has been an 80-minute contributor, steadily building a rapport with halves Shaun Johnson and James Maloney. The fitness fanatic is also the team’s second most prolific defender behind Elijah Taylor.

Jake Friend, who has also featured throughout the Roosters campaign, thought Mara’s promotion from NSW Cup duty with the Auckland Vulcans could be exploited as the Sydneysiders seek to do the double over the Warriors following their 26-8 win at Allianz Stadium on March 31.

‘‘I’m sure the bloke coming in has trained with them and knows the game plans but not having your No 1 number nine in there will be a bit of a disadvantage,’’ he said.

Friend was also encouraged with his own return to a semblance form after a subdued beginning to the campaign.

He has also turned in back-to-back 80-minute shifts against the St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights – two individual and collective performances that give the 2010 runnersup belief they are gaining momentum after an inconsistent start.

‘‘At the start of the year I was a bit slow but my form’s been improving in the last couple of rounds. It helps when the boys around you are all playing better,’’ he said.

The ninth-placed Roosters have only strung together consecutive wins once in 2012 – the Warriors and Titans in rounds five and six – but were buoyed by their last-minute (28-24) loss to the Dragons on Anzac Day and then a comprehensive 24-6 triumph over the Knights last weekend. ‘‘We were a bit up and down but the Dragons and the game at the weekend were solid performances. If we can maintain that standard we’ll go well this year,’’ Friend said.