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Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens hopes an end to his team's losing streak and the return of key players will spark them out of their mid-season slump and into a surge to the NRL finals.
The Tigers snapped a three-match losing run with a convincing 38-18 win against North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night to put themselves back into the top eight with seven matches remaining. Sheens said his side had been suffering from a slump, with injuries, transfer speculation and bad luck on the football field adding to the Tigers' woes.
''There's a whole myriad of things: injury, obviously some issues within the team with people coming and going, and also how we played the football. There's a whole host of things, and it's just a mid-season issue,'' Sheens said.
''I mean, we've won a game, we've lost our last three, and if you want to build some momentum and confidence, it'll come slow. But if we play like we did and improve a touch, we can win some football games, and then you'll find that your confidence is back and you can play a little bit like Wests Tigers know they can.''
The Tigers have welcomed back Chris Lawrence and Benji Marshall from injury in recent weeks, and the four-time premiership winning coach expects veterans Matt Utai (arm), Lote Tuqiri (ankle) and Todd Payten (knee) to be available to face the Sydney Roosters on Saturday.
But Sheens warned it would take time for those players to regain match fitness. ''You can't just expect them to jump in and be at their best, so we've got to be careful there, too, with so many coming back,'' he said.
''We'll start to look a little like our old selves and, as we build some confidence from tonight, hopefully next week build it again. That's going to be our aim.''
Captain Robbie Farah said the win against the Cowboys counted for little if they couldn't consolidate.
''Tonight means nothing if we can't back it up at home against the Roosters. So we'll keep working hard and hope it goes well,'' he said.
The win put the Tigers into seventh spot. Farah said: ''We know where we are … As long as we keep winning footy games, that's all we can worry about.''
[Source](http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/sheens-hopes-reversal-will-spur-tigers-run-to-finals-20110717-1hkcq.html)
The Tigers snapped a three-match losing run with a convincing 38-18 win against North Queensland in Townsville on Saturday night to put themselves back into the top eight with seven matches remaining. Sheens said his side had been suffering from a slump, with injuries, transfer speculation and bad luck on the football field adding to the Tigers' woes.
''There's a whole myriad of things: injury, obviously some issues within the team with people coming and going, and also how we played the football. There's a whole host of things, and it's just a mid-season issue,'' Sheens said.
''I mean, we've won a game, we've lost our last three, and if you want to build some momentum and confidence, it'll come slow. But if we play like we did and improve a touch, we can win some football games, and then you'll find that your confidence is back and you can play a little bit like Wests Tigers know they can.''
The Tigers have welcomed back Chris Lawrence and Benji Marshall from injury in recent weeks, and the four-time premiership winning coach expects veterans Matt Utai (arm), Lote Tuqiri (ankle) and Todd Payten (knee) to be available to face the Sydney Roosters on Saturday.
But Sheens warned it would take time for those players to regain match fitness. ''You can't just expect them to jump in and be at their best, so we've got to be careful there, too, with so many coming back,'' he said.
''We'll start to look a little like our old selves and, as we build some confidence from tonight, hopefully next week build it again. That's going to be our aim.''
Captain Robbie Farah said the win against the Cowboys counted for little if they couldn't consolidate.
''Tonight means nothing if we can't back it up at home against the Roosters. So we'll keep working hard and hope it goes well,'' he said.
The win put the Tigers into seventh spot. Farah said: ''We know where we are … As long as we keep winning footy games, that's all we can worry about.''
[Source](http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/sheens-hopes-reversal-will-spur-tigers-run-to-finals-20110717-1hkcq.html)
