With the Roosters 4-0, there’s been no pressure for Tarryn Aiken to return early.

So given that she’s been named at halfback for this weekend against Wests Tigers, you can assume that the Queensland Origin playmaker is 100 per cent fit and ready to go.

The Roosters’ unbelievable depth got an early test and it held up perfectly. Now Jocelyn Kelleher simply slides from halfback to No.6, Corban Baxter from five-eighth to No.1, and Brydie Parker from fullback to the wing.

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What a luxury, when the Chooks have just come off putting 42 points on the Bulldogs. You’d hate to be the Tigers this weekend – it’ll be a proper David and Goliath battle on the opening day of Magic Round.

The Roosters are just in a league of their own at the moment and yet, we’ll likely see them get even better in coming weeks with their first-choice halfback returning to the helm.

This is a side that was up 32-0 by half-time against the Bulldogs on the weekend. The Dogs showed that they’re a resilient bunch, winning the second half 10-22, but the Roosters just had too much strike across the field in their 42-22 win.

TITANS LEAVE BEHIND SLOW START

Gold Coast are back on an even keel at 2-2 for the season and for them to go over to New Zealand and knock off a Warriors team that are no easybeats, it should give them a lot of confidence.

The Warriors have got some promising talent, plus a few established stars, and I thought that the Titans contained former rugby star Michaela Brake quite well. They just got on the front foot and stayed there, winning 20-10.

The return of captain Georgia Hale was a big plus and she made her presence felt, topping the tackle count back on Kiwi soil to help put a gap between her side and an underwhelming start to the season.

The Bulldogs will be a fair test for the Titans at Magic Round. They’re a decent side but it’s the type of game Gold Coast need to win if they’re to make a finals return.

COWBOYS THREATENING FOR FINALS RUN

Jakiya Whitfield returned in brilliant fashion for the Cowboys as they proved a stunning upset of the Sharks last week was no fluke, easily accounting for the Raiders 26-0. Sitting in the top four, they’re definitely looking a finals chance.

Whitfield ran for 202m, giving them so much forward momentum and strike on either side of the ruck. Rosie Kelly is really settling in nicely at five-eighth, growing in confidence as she works off the back of a powerful pack.

Speaking of which, Essay Banu came out firing in the first 10 minutes and shell-shocked Canberra, who never seemed to recover. She was coming off that massive hit last week against Cronulla and just seems to be thriving.

As for the Raiders, being held scoreless must have been very disheartening. They sit winless alongside Wests Tigers at the bottom of the ladder and there’s a lot of work to be done to turn things around.

SOUTHWELL SENSATIONAL FOR GRITTY KNIGHTS

Everyone was excited to see the halfback match-up of Jesse Southwell and Rachael Pearson, two of the most evenly-matched No.7s in the competition. While it lived up to the billing as one of the round’s featured battles, Newcastle were just too strong for Parramatta in a 30-6 away win.

Southwell is in such good form. While there’s been so much talk about the Knights losing Tamika Upton and Hannah Southwell, Newcastle don’t seem fazed by it. They’ve still got plenty of premiership-winning players rich with experience and Jesse is leading the way; still with flawless goalkicking (17/17) this season, while tearing up the middle of the field with her ball-playing against the Eels and keeping her outside backs well fed.

Georgia Roache also really impressed, with her offloading delivering two tries from second-phase play. Yasmin Clydsdale came up with a brilliant individual effort for a second-half try and is showing her leadership after being elevated to the captaincy.

Opposing skipper Mahalia Murphy gave her a great battle. There was still plenty to like for the Eels, with Elsie Albert and Abbi Church among their best, but they’re back to the drawing board for an exciting clash against the Dragons that will close out Magic Round.

BRONCOS TOO CLASSY AFTER SLOW START

It was a good benchmark game for the Dragons, having made an exciting start to the season, but an impressive start fell well short against one of the competition heavyweights in Brisbane. Teagan Berry scored the opening try as St George Illawarra went into half-time locked at 6-6, but she was then sin-binned in the second half and Kasey Reh was ruled out with a HIA as the Broncos ran away with it 30-6.

Brisbane showed their class by responding big-time after being put under a lot of early pressure. They just don’t panic. Unlike some other sides who can get flustered under pressure, you just see how they can steel themselves and find another gear.

Chelsea Lenarduzzi had a massive impact off the bench, with 90 run metres (37 post-contact) and a try in just 27 minutes, while Julia Robinson was massive from the back with 241 run metres (103 post-contact) and her side’s opening four-pointer.

The Broncos really found their groove in that second half and look in fine form heading into what will be a huge Magic Round clash against Cronulla. However, they won’t want a repeat of that shaky start, because the Sharks could make them pay.

SHARKS FLYERS EYE MAGIC ROUND BLOCKBUSTER

The Sharks only just got away with it in a 20-16 win over Wests Tigers. The game against Brisbane this weekend will say plenty about how they’re really travelling this season, off the back of last year’s grand final appearance.

Having been put on the ropes by a winless Tigers team, they’re going to have to be far better against Brisbane.

One thing they absolutely have going for them is enormous output from the outside backs. Their run metres against the Tigers were outstanding, with every player above 100 while Tiana Penitani-Gray and Cassie Staples cracked 200. The Broncos will need to work really hard to shut that down and will have some joy if they do; Ellie Johnston was the only Cronulla forward above 100 run metres on the weekend.

The Tigers are just a bit short of elite talent but a few are putting their hand up. Winger Caitlin Turnbull is standing out each week as a menace for the opposition defence, competing on every effort and really settling in nicely to the standard of NRLW.