The Sydney Roosters are planning on ending Melbourne’s unbeaten start to the NRL season by adopting the same tactics that helped them thrash the Storm in round 26 last season.

Melbourne captain Cameron Smith said he expected the Roosters, who have two wins from three games, to come down to Melbourne for Sunday’s game with an aggressive attitude, intent on trying to “bash us out of the game”.

And his fears were confirmed by a confident Mitchell Pearce, who said the Roosters wouldn’t deviate from the game plan which was so effective last year.

In that game, the Roosters took on a Melbourne side who had rested Smith and fullback Billy Slater, but simply muscled them out of the game on their way to a 40-8 thrashing of the minor premiers.

“I think that night even if (Smith and Slater) were playing, I think we would’ve won,” Pearce said on Thursday.

“We physically dominated them in the forwards. That’s something we’ll be looking to do again.”

And Pearce said the Roosters would be using their young, tough forward pack to their advantage as a means of keeping the Storm’s star trio of Smith, Slater and Cooper Cronk quiet.

“Last week (against the Raiders) and especially through the trials our forwards have been really dominant and stood over the other teams,” he said.

“I think again last week against a forward pack that had a few rep players, in Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Dave Shillington, I think our forwards really took it to them.

“That’s something I think we can do again this week.

“The more we dominate that part of the game gives Slater and Cameron Smith less chance to get into the game.

“… I think we’ve got a great forward pack. We’ve got one of the youngest forward packs in the comp but I reckon one of the toughest forward packs.

“We want to win that battle.”

Pearce admitted his side were lucky to escape with a 14-8 victory over the Raiders last round despite making a staggering 23 errors – and conceded they wouldn’t get the same sort of leniency against the methodical Melbourne.

“It will be pretty tough to win against the Storm if we make those sort of errors,” he said.

“We got out of jail a bit on the weekend through our defence.

“… I think we completed 50 per cent of the ball. That’s probably not acceptable for a first grade game.

“We were still good enough to hang in there and get the win.”

And Roosters fans will have to wait at least another week to see gifted centre Tautau Moga make his NRL debut, with the 18-year-old considered no chance of a late call-up for the Storm clash.