Sydney Roosters captain Braith Anasta knows a bit about turning wooden spoons into NRL premiership trophies, and this year is starting to remind him of 2004.

Anasta won the title that year with Canterbury, who two years earlier had been handed the spoon as punishment for a salary-cap rort.

The Bulldogs also needed to put a pre-season drama involving a sexual assault allegation behind them before winning a grand final against the Roosters.

Now Anasta's Roosters have the chance to better the Dogs' effort and become the first club since 1934 to go from last one year to premiers the next.

"I suppose there is a little bit (of a parallel)," he told reporters on the eve of Friday's grand final qualifier against Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium.

"We got kicked out of the comp at Canterbury, came back a couple of years later and won a premiership.

"(This year) we've come up from the wooden spoon to try and win a premiership again so I suppose there are similarities there, but completely different teams and clubs."

Anasta says a second premiership would mean at least as much as his first, which came after the Bulldogs had made the second-last week in 2003.

"I'm very proud of the team and where we've situated ourselves at the moment," he said.

"To win a premiership would be everything to the club and to me as well and would be up there with the highlights of my life, that's for sure."

Anasta knows season 2010, coach Brian Smith's first at the rejuvenated club, has already been a success.

But he can also empathise with St George Illawarra's Dean Young, who said earlier this week that anything short of a premiership would represent failure for the Dragons.

"I feel the same way," Anasta said.

"We've got ourselves in a great position, we want to win a premiership.

"If we don't, I wouldn't say the whole season's a failure ... it would be disappointing and an opportunity gone begging."

He says the players haven't spoken about becoming the first club since Western Suburbs to complete the ultimate turnaround, but an awareness of that history could be a bonus.

"I'm sure a lot of the players are proud of the position we're in, in coming from last, an opportunity to win the premiership, it would be a huge deal and it would be great for us to achieve," he said.

"We haven't talked about it so it's not really a focus for us but it's a little bit of a positive and a little bit of extra motivation for us."

The Roosters flew to Brisbane on Thursday for a final training session at Suncorp ahead of the preliminary final against Gold Coast.

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