Scorelines don't generally tend to matter too much during the NRL pre-season - unless you're coming off a 50-point hiding.

That's the scenario facing the Sydney Roosters heading into Saturday's Foundation Cup clash against Wests Tigers, skipper Braith Anasta one of a handful of Roosters still licking their wounds following last weekend's hammering at the hands of St George Illawarra.

Yes, the Roosters were well below full strength and yes the Dragons were out to impress new coach Wayne Bennett as they ran up a 54-6 win, but Anasta admitted another loss of that magnitude could leave some long-term scars.

"For us it does," Anasta said when asked if the scoreboard would matter on Saturday night.

"We went into that first trial probably a bit negative and we probably missed the kick ... St George came out pretty fired up and took it you could say more serious than us, which is pretty poor.

"That's what makes this game more important for us, we've got to make sure we improve on that last performance - and I suppose the scoreline will play a part in that.

"My responsibility in this game is to try and get our team back on track, make sure that we get some confidence and some good football under our belt before we play the first game."

Helping Anasta's bid to get back on track is a full-strength Roosters outfit, with only injured trio Willie Mason, Setaimata Sa and Iosia Soliola to miss the annual match-up.

But the Tigers have also named a powerful line-up, which may be boosted later this week with the inclusion of injured skipper Robbie Farah.

Farah was not named by coach Tim Sheens on Tuesday, but a return from off-season back surgery at the Sydney Football Stadium remains a possibility.

"He's got a specialist appointment tomorrow, but he's training today," Sheens said on Tuesday.

"He's been training, it's just a matter of doing more contact.

"If he does participate it'll just be at the back end of the game, just a little bit of time.

"He's confident that he might (be able to play), so we'll wait and see."

While the Roosters are sweating on some scoreboard respectability, stand-in Tigers captain Benji Marshall claimed winning would not be all-important.

The Tigers squeaked home in their opening trial against South Sydney, but for Marshall the focus remains developing combinations.

"I don't think winning's too much of a factor, it's more playing well," Marshall said.

"You can play well and just get beaten which is sometimes alright - that's what these games are for, you practice what you've been doing in the pre-season and work on a few new things and see what works and what doesn't."

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