Message to Sheens haunts Bennett

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Message to Sheens haunts Bennett
David Beniuk
August 4, 2011 - 4:59PM

AAP

It was after St George Illawarra's win over the Wests Tigers back in May that Wayne Bennett had a message for old sparring partner Tim Sheens.

It's one Bennett is undoubtedly hoping can be reciprocated at fulltime in Friday night's NRL blockbuster at the Sydney Football Stadium.

"Wayne made the comment to me … he said 'they had a go for you today'," Sheens told reporters on Thursday.

"(That) was fair enough, I think that's probably a fair way of putting it."

The Tigers had staged a comeback at WIN Jubilee Oval before going down 24-18, the Dragons notching a club record ninth straight win.

They'd been down 20-6 at halftime, coincidentally the same score by which the Dragons led South Sydney last Sunday before crashing 34-24.

That loss and one to Canberra the week before - after also leading early - caused Bennett to question his players' desire to back up last year's breakthrough premiership win.

Tigers captain Robbie Farah described the comments as "smart", saying they would have touched a raw nerve with the Dragons players.

"As a footy player, any time that your attitude gets questioned, or your desire, you take that personally," Farah said.

"So I think those comments would have hit the mark, definitely."

Sheens, with four titles, is second only to seven-time premiership winning mentor Bennett and the Tigers boss said high-flying sides could struggle mentally in the final month of the regular season.

"The tough thing is to keep winning when you know you're already in the semis," Sheens said.

"Players tend to be wanting to get that 'let's get into the semi-finals' attitude and the last month of footy's tough."

But if Bennett's stinging criticism, which included a suggestion that only the players could fix the problem, was a motivational ploy, the Dragons are denying it.

Backrower Beau Scott claimed to have not even heard the comments or discussed them with his team-mates.

"I didn't hear it to tell the truth," he said on Thursday.

"I don't read too much in the media side of things so I can't really comment on it."

The Dragons have lost five of their past seven games to drop out of the top four, while the Tigers won a third straight match for the first time this year with last week's 14-12 win over second-placed Manly.

The combination of the Dragons' desperation and the Tigers' form has officials predicting a crowd of more than 35,000 at a game that was originally slated for the SCG on Sunday before television scheduling forced it to be moved.

"A big crowd will bring out the best in anyone," Sheens said. "Both teams will have plenty to play for.

"Those sort of games sometimes aren't like having a home crowd either, it's going to be just a large noise."

The eighth-placed Tigers, who have a four-point buffer on the ladder to the chasing pack, would need to crash badly in the final month of the regular season to miss the finals.

"It's not a matter of a game for us this week being a defining game, it's the next five weeks that is important for us," Sheens said.

"It's a five-week program for us, not a one-week program."

 

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TIM SHEENS PLAYS HIS OWN GAME
By Wayne Cousins
4/08/2011 3:14:38 PM

As hard as the media tried, Tim Sheens refused to focus on the publicity surrounding the St George-Illawarra Dragons at the Sydney Football Stadium this morning.

Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s blockbuster, the game’s longest serving coach was asked about the Dragons and their recent form, having won 2 from their last 8 matches.

Is this the right time to play the Dragons, Tim?

“With back to back losses, they will certainly come out to play but we have been going along okay too,’’ Sheens stated.

“I have been pretty happy with particularly with the Cowboys win away and Manly win away so it’s a good test for us. It is not going to make or break us. Winning it will certainly be a bonus. Losing is not going to cost us the season but we much rather win it.

“There are still 5 rounds of football to be played and anything can happen. You can find a lot of good form, you can hit a wall, an injury can happen. I’ve been around too long to know you don’t starting counting things just yet.

“We are not where they are. They still have got a little bit of comfort as far as do all the top four sides so they have got a bit of room to move. We haven’t got much room to move.”

Are the Dragons still the benchmark in the NRL despite their recent form?

“They are mentioned by everybody as one of the 3 or 4 consistent teams this year. Although they have lost a few games in their last eight around State of Origin time, and the last couple of losses have been narrow, you wouldn’t say they have played poorly,’’ Sheens said.

“When they open up, they open up and they are very good on both sides of the field. Both edges are very quick and I think they have got a full complement of players available so they are not going too bad. I wish I could say that.”

Would a win over the premiers show what Wests Tigers were capable of?

“I’m not worried about what people are saying. We are concentrating internally on what we are doing. Just trying to get some rhythm back into our game and try to get everyone back fit and get some game time behind them,’’ he said.

“I still see Chris Lawrence getting better and Todd Payten is still well off his best. It takes time. I’m just trying to win enough games to make the playoffs and get some game time in our senior players.”

Would playing the Dragons bring the best out of the Wests Tigers?

“A big crowd will bring the best out in anyone. Both teams will have plenty to play for. These sorts of games are not like having a home crowd either. It is just going to be a large noise in here on Friday night,'' Sheens said.

“The players will respond to that. You should see a good game of footy.”

Do Wests Tigers prefer to play St George-Illawarra after a couple of losses?

“It doesn’t worry me. I rather be playing off wins than losses. I don’t care where they are. I’m more concerned as to where we are and what we are doing. There are still four rounds to play after this,’’ expressed Sheens.

“As I said last week, I would have loved to have beaten Manly last round going into the semis right now but we are not. It was only a few weeks ago we lost 3 in a row and we were being criticised. We are not fooling ourselves. We still have got some work to do.

“We are just clear of the pack and we need to stay clear by winning enough games in the next five rounds. It is not a matter of this being a defining game for us - the next 5 weeks is important to us.”

Would the public spray Wayne Bennett gave his team after the Souths loss be a motivating tool?

“I’ve said I’m not really interested in getting involved in what Wayne is doing with St George. My job is to try and get our people ready to play this week and then play another 4 rounds,’’ Sheens stated again.

“All I can do is just concentrate on getting the team ready for the next 5 weeks. It is a five week program for us, not a 1 week program.”