And he has been so hellbent on demanding more involvement from Roosters attacking aces Latrell Mitchell and Blake Ferguson he has even reverted to throwing back-rowers on the flanks.

So as the casual rugby league fan has been wowed with the speed and skill of traditional wingers Semi Radradra, Suliasi Vunivalu and Josh Addo-Carr during the finals series, Robinson has played to his strengths.

Which means Mitchell Aubusson and Ryan Matterson have had to do a job hugging the chalk in the past few weeks. Some might call it culture. Doing whatever the coach demands of you. And getting a result for your team. Whatever it is, it is working.

And what other side can carry Aubusson and Matterson in the most prolific try-scoring positions and still be as potent as the Roosters?

Their roles may have gone unnoticed by many, but Robinson's outside-the-box thinking has gone a long way to explaining why a Roosters side yet to hit top gear is just 80 minutes away from another grand final.

It's the type of thinking Robinson has become synonymous for since arriving in the NRL with an instant impact as a head coach.

Aubusson and Matterson, by definition, are edge back-rowers. In the tricolours' dramatic late show against the Broncos to open the finals, both started in the centres. They played there in defence, adding steel to the Roosters' fringes. And mostly there in attack when their side is carting the ball out of their own end.

But it is Robinson's interchangeable roles for the pair when in possession in different parts of the ground that goes a long way to explaining why Mitchell could do what he did against the Broncos.

As soon as the Roosters find themselves in "good ball" territory - peppering the opposition's try-line - Aubusson and Matterson generally retreat to their uncustomary stations on the wings and only leave them in the case of a last-tackle crossfield kick where Mitchell and Ferguson are the targets. They don't expect to get the ball and generally don't.

It is told in the stats, Champion Data suggesting Aubusson and Matterson had just eight and nine touches of the ball respectively against the Broncos - the lowest out of the entire Roosters 17 bar bench players Kane Evans, Connor Watson and Daniel Tupou, who played just 51 minutes between them.

Mitchell and Ferguson shuffle in a spot. The Roosters straighten up their attack, rarely expanding wider than the pair who are asked to isolate their opposition defender. It worked beautifully in the case of Mitchell, the 20-year-old's don't argue on James Roberts for the match-winning play a case in point.

Aubusson was asked during the week about the culture at the Roosters. Not specifically about his own wing sacrifice, but what Robinson has cultivated at the club before their grand final qualifier against the Cowboys on Saturday night.

"It is different," Aubusson said. "There's a lot of guys here who worked hard for that culture. When those guys go out and new guys come in, you have to get them up to speed with what we want to do at this club.

"At the moment everyone is buying in. It's not a year thing, it's years of work. That culture has to stay and hopefully it means the Roosters win more footy games and we're a strong club for a period of time."

Many would argue the Roosters' culture is typified by Aubusson.

The sacrifices he and Matterson have had to make might be negated slightly this week, with Tupou elevated from the bench after returning to full fitness to be named as a starter on one wing.

But how the Roosters played with a couple of back-rowers on the wing and have got so close to a decider won't be forgotten.

- with Adrian Proszenko