The Roosters have the attack to beat Penrith and rock this year’s overwhelming premiership favourites.

Along with Canberra, they’re the team I love watching play the most, from an entertainment perspective. And just like Canberra, they can still make you wonder why their attack doesn’t click into gear more often.

Trent Robinson has built a team and a roster with points of attack all over the field. But their biggest strength is the ability to play in and also out of structure.

It doesn’t show in the numbers though – their 24.9 points per game this year ranks them eighth in the NRL – because all that strike power comes with such unpredictability.

Having so many attacking options – particularly such creative, risk-taking attacking options – has the Roosters regularly rolling the dice. Sometimes it just doesn’t work, and they fall out of rhythm when you think they’re ready to go to another level.

But everywhere you look, there are points to be scored. On their right edge, Daly Cherry-Evans attacks with Siua Wong on his right shoulder and Rob Toia outside them. Watch especially for a four-on-four set-up – this is when DCE is at his best.

Along with Mitchell Moses, Cherry-Evans’ ability to count numbers and drag a defender into error down a short-side is the best in the game. And having a finisher like Mark Nawaqanitawase working on the wing in this situation is just unfair.

Then through the middle, the Roosters’ big men have offloads in their game, and James Tedesco holds the key. A few years ago he was trying to do a bit too much around the ruck to spark their attack. It’s easy to see why given his speed, footwork and power.

But he’s built up his ball-playing over the past two seasons. So now when he jumps into that first-receiver role, it can truly kick-start a roll-on at the ruck and frees up Sam Walker and Cherry-Evans, rather than taking away their chances to get up over the advantage line.

Tedesco has so much power through his hips, he’s just a nightmare for tired defenders to deal with. Newcastle’s forwards were the latest to be exposed by him last week.

And then on the Roosters’ left edge, Walker reigns supreme. There is no more unpredictable halfback in the game – short kicks, long balls, flick passes, no-look balls and his own running game. You name it, Sam will try it.

The two key elements to the Roosters’ attack, for mine, are Walker’s kicking game and Victor Radley’s ball-playing.

Radley keeps the attack direct and on-point. No player is more ad-lib than Walker, and Cherry-Evans is not too far behind him.

Radley as a ball-playing lock is the key to keeping the Roosters travelling north-south when there can be a temptation for the halves to end up going sideways, or east-west, searching for a gap in the defensive line. Victor’s pass selection and ball-playing can sit comfortably alongside the best playmakers in the game too.

And then there’s Sam’s kicking. I think we saw in this year’s State of Origin series, especially when Queensland were under pressure and needed a strong long kick to find territory, that Walker has improved significantly when he’s punting long.

But when Walker’s close to the line, no-one gets close to how he manipulates an opposition fullback. The Roosters have scored 27 tries from kicks this year, the most of any team in the NRL.

Walker has forced 15 drop-outs and Cherry-Evans has added eight as well. They mirror the Queensland kicking threat Tedesco had to deal with when he was NSW fullback, trying to defend Walker on one side, with Kalyn Ponga and Cameron Munster on the other.

And Walker’s execution when he puts boot to ball has him threading the needle better than anyone, including Nathan Cleary and Adam Reynolds.

So often he kicks in behind the “three man” – the third defender in from the sideline. Walker takes the ball to the line, so the opposition centre and winger have to come up in case he passes to a ball-runner, then he’ll kick in behind the back-rower and half, and kicks above the knee so they can’t get a foot to the ball and smother it.

Walker can grubber with both feet and you only have to look at that Origin series to see the confidence he’s playing with.

Make no mistake, the Roosters have the attack to win an NRL title – if they can get the balance right.

Could the Cowboys charge into the top four?

All that said, I can’t believe the Chooks are red-hot favourites this week in Townsville. They weren’t great against Newcastle last week – 13 errors showed the risk in their game, while North Queensland produced the tough, gritty win they needed.

Those Broncos derbies are always the biggest games of the season for the Cowboys, and to beat Brisbane after losing Tom Dearden late in the week should have given them a massive confidence boost.

I worked with Jake Clifford at the Knights and he is the definition of a confidence player. When he’s up, it translates into really, really impressive form for him.

Todd Payten dropped him after North Queensland’s 40-14 loss to the Dolphins but the way Clifford returned and performed against the Broncos was a great sign of where he’s at with his game. Aside from that Dolphins defeat, the Cowboys have been riding high with wins over Penrith, Manly and Brisbane.

If they can get the job done against the Roosters, then they’re home and hosed to play finals in my eyes. Their run home even has them as a potential top-four smokey.

North Queensland can build serious momentum and a bank of four or five straight wins with games against the Titans (away), Parramatta (away), Wests Tigers (home) and Canberra (home) with a bye in the middle.

I think Thursday night’s clash will be an attacking shoot-out, led by two gunslingers in Walker and Scott Drinkwater. Both play without fear of error or consequence and that could easily mean 30 points or more will be needed to win this one.

The Cowboys are coming off a five-day turnaround but they haven’t left Townsville, while the Roosters have had a day’s worth of travel up north.

How North Queensland’s middles – Thomas Mikaele, Jason Taumalolo and Reuben Cotter – handle Naufahu Whyte, Spencer Leniu and Radley is the key to this contest.

If they can keep a lid on the Roosters pack, control the ruck and limit Tedesco’s front-foot ball, they are good for an upset. And I’d be going after the mismatches out wide.

North Queensland’s back-rowers Heilum Luki and Jeremiah Nanai are world-class and lining up opposite DCE and Walker. Enough early ball on either side of the paddock could have the Roosters halves in trouble.

Joey’s tip: Cowboys by sixFirst try-scorer: Jeremiah NanaiMan of the match: Scott Drinkwater