How NSW stars Michael Jennings, James Maloney and Mitchell Pearce will back up for the Roosters tonight

GETTING three Roosters stars fit and ready to play 48 hours after being battered and bruised in Origin I is no easy feat:

Mitchell Pearce

JAMES Maloney looks every inch a fella surviving on three hours sleep. Ambling into Roosters HQ, his footy bag slung over one shoulder, the NSW rookie passes the front desk and flashes exactly the type of exhausted smile that comes from hauling oneself through the Valley of Death otherwise known as Origin.

It's a look every Roosters staffer knew was coming.

"Yeah, we started preparing for it three weeks ago," club physiotherapist Travis Touma says. "We were planning on ways to treat Jimmy before he was even picked."

Which is why on this particular Thursday morning, carrying just three hours sleep and all the aches of Origin, Maloney is greeted by a personal masseur whose entire month has been spent preparing for every possible scenario that is involved in playing two league games within 48 hours.

All up today, the Roosters have outlaid for three masseurs on top of their full-time soft tissue specialist. There are also another two physiotherapists plus head of performance Craig Walker, who is only minutes from commencing a military-style operation through one heated pool, three ice baths and a spa.

Call it Operation Friday Night Footy. An intense process which, planned to the minute by coach Trent Robinson, aims to ensure superstar trio Maloney, Mitchell Pearce and Michael Jennings - all part of that Wednesday night Origin triumph - are able to take the field against Parramatta just two nights later.

Here The Daily Telegraph gives you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at how it all unfolded:

WEDNESDAY 10PM - FULLTIME ORIGIN I

Having won the opening game of the Origin series, several NSW players grab a beer from the giant esky in the middle of the Blues dressing room. The three Roosters players, however, refrain. Given the team sponsor is VB, it's not exactly the toughest decision.

WEDNESDAY 10.30PM - MEDICAL

NSW physio Liz Steet conducts a medical examination on the trio and sends the results, via text message, to Touma, who has just finished watching the game at home. He then relays the news to Robinson. "And a text is always good news," he says. "If it's something more serious, Liz will call me direct."

Michael Jennings

WEDNESDAY 11PM - HOME

While most of the NSW Origin squad will spend the night at the Pullman Hotel, Homebush, the three Roosters all break from camp and head home immediately. Unable to sleep after a sensational Origin debut, Maloney stays awake until 3am ... and is woken again at 6am by his son Kade.

THURSDAY 10.45AM - MEDICAL

The Roosters players assemble for their second medical in the space of 12 hours. All three have come through Origin I unscathed, save the usual bumps and bruises. After 10 appearances for the Blues, Pearce insists he is happier to play on Friday than Sunday. "No one wants to wait around," he says. "The quicker you play again the better."

THURSDAY 11AM - POOL SESSION

Roosters head of performance Craig Walker puts the trio through 20 minutes of pool work, which includes stretches, deep water running and various gentle movement patterns including squats and lunges.

THURSDAY 11.30AM - ICE BATHS

Heading to the "Home" sheds at Allianz Stadium, the players are asked to give three, two-minute "efforts" in an ice bath cooled to just 12 degrees. After each turn in the tub, the players then spend a minute in the spa. "And to have them coming off a win certainly helps," Touma says. "You know yourself, after you have a big disappointment, it seems to hang over you for some time. But those little niggles never feel so bad after an Origin win."

THURSDAY 11.50AM - FIELD SESSION

While all three players have been granted an exemption from the Captain's Run, they make a brief appearance just before the end of ballwork, which brings a sudden halt to proceedings as the Roosters players gather around them to cheer and throw high fives.

Mitchell Pearce

THURSDAY NOON - MASSAGE

Three weeks ago, coach Robinson asked his performance staff to hire three masseurs for the day after Origin. A second physiotherapist is also on deck. The players will spend 45 minutes on the massage table before a team meeting at 1pm.

THURSDAY 1PM - TEAM MEETING

All players are called into Roosters HQ, where coach Robinson goes over the Friday night game plan.

After an hour, as has become tradition, the players break and head off to an eastern suburbs eatery for a team lunch.

Players then break for the afternoon, with Roosters staffers tipping the Blues trio will be asleep by 9pm.

FRIDAY NOON - TRAVEL TO PARRAMATTA

Rather than battle Friday afternoon traffic, coach Robinson has booked a hotel near Parramatta Stadium for his team to prepare.

FRIDAY 1PM - MASSAGE

Players will book into rooms, with Roosters staffers again providing massages and physiotherapy for their Origin trio. "Normally it takes a player about 45 minutes to prepare for warm-up," Touma says.

"That's 15 minutes for massage, 10 minutes with the physio if necessary, then strapping. But for the Origin boys, each of those visits will take quite a bit longer ... all up about three hours."

FRIDAY 3PM - POWER NAP

The Origin players will be encouraged to head back to their rooms and take a 30-minute power nap. Research suggests it is extremely beneficial for athletes as long as they don't go beyond the half-hour mark and drift into a deep sleep. As a result, two alarms are often set.

FRIDAY 7.30PM - GAME ON

While there is no physiological evidence to support it, the Roosters trio will run onto Parramatta Stadium tonight convinced the shorter the turnaround after an Origin game the better.

From skipper Anthony Minichiello through to assistant coach Craig Fitzgibbon, all the talk at Bondi Junction yesterday was that an Origin "high" - particularly after a win - lasts a good 48 hours.

Certainly Pearce was feeling it. "And it's even better," he grinned, "if you can come away with two wins."