Sydney Roosters were trounced 48-4 at Penrith just four weeks ago, but the overriding storyline of the Allianz Stadium return clash is Nathan Cleary’s hamstring injury.

The Roosters subsequently went down in the last minute to lowly St George Illawarra, but they came out of the bye with a desperately needed 25-24 eclipse of Canterbury last Sunday.

James Tedesco and Luke Keary were outstanding in both cliff-hangers, the skipper making a mockery of post-Origin criticism with his best game of the year in Round 14 and Keary slotting his second match-winning field goal of the season.

The Panthers have worked their way to the top run of the NRL ladder with four straight wins, but with Cleary exiting early and a host of other stars backing up from Origin they only closed out a 26-18 win over the last-placed Dragons in the dying minutes.

It was only the second time this season the dual premiers have conceded more than 17 points.

Jack Cogger, who came off the bench against the Saints, is set to get a six-week opportunity in the No.7 jersey.

Jaeman Salmon returns to the interchange this week, but the Panthers will look to Jarome Luai, Isaah Yeo and Dylan Edwards to lead them through this Cleary-less stretch.

The Roosters have lost Joseph Suaalii to suspension but Daniel Tupou is back from injury, with Corey Allan shifting from wing to centre.

Their Round 11 encounter was the Roosters’ seventh straight loss to the Panthers – though Cleary was on deck for six of those.

The Roosters are getting a tempting 5.5 points at the line but have covered in just one of their last eight.

Penrith managed to win eight of their 10 games without Cleary last season and still have to be favoured to get the result here without their linchpin.

The post Sydney Roosters vs Penrith Panthers Tips and Odds – NRL 2023 Round 15 first appeared on JustBetting.com.au.