"We've got to step up again"

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"We've got to step up again"
Author Dan Talintyre Timestamp Tue 24 Apr 2018, 02:46 PM

Wests Tigers co-captain Benji Marshall says there'll be no resting on the laurels of what's happened in the season so far as the team looks to bounce back this week.

Sitting pretty inside the top four of the competition despite a last start loss to Newcastle, Marshall said the strong start to the season needed to act as a motivator to keep the side going forward with improved performances in 2018, and not something to look back on as a proud achievement.

"On the scale of the season, five wins and two losses is not a bad place to be," Marshall said.

"I thought the first six weeks of the season, the things that we did well led us to win those games. And I think we lost that a little on the weekend… just not getting to the end of our sets as well as we had been.

"It's a good lesson for us that when we play how we have been for each, it goes a long way to winning.

"The thing it does do is makes us have to step up our game," he added.

"We know that Parramatta are going to be on, so we need to be on as well.

"I think as a team we've built a lot of trust and confidence in each other and that's still there. We were under the pump in that game and showed a lot of fight to get back to the front, even though we lost on the bell."
 
One word - intensity.

It was way down against the Knights compared with the previous games this season.

I can only surmise that the view was "it is only the Knights" and the rest is history.

They had better show up like they did in Round 1 against the Eels this weekend or they might be on the end of another rude shock.
 
Benji knows what he has to fix so hopefully he does it in action not just words. I’m hoping last week so an odd lull week and they bounce back with a much improved performance this week.
 
@ said:
Hmmm no mention of how they were dominated in the ruck last week, I hope its been addressed
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It comes off the back of being down on energy, they started flat, Newcastle were up for it and once they got a sniff, they were hard to peg back. No doubt they've done their video review Ink, you could see the first 20 minutes of the second half we were a different side but then faded out of the game trying to protect the lead.

The boys won't have forgotten how well the Eels started against us last time so I'm confident we'll come out with a lot more intent this week, and we'll need to, they're very much a confidence side but I'm hoping the emotion of last week has taken a bit of sting out of them.
 
We all agree that the intensity was way down last week and this led to a huge fall off in the defense. Newcastle played well but we allowed them to by not moving up quickly enough and allowing their forwards to get on a roll which then provided space for Pearce and Ponga to penetrate our line. We are a team that relies heavily on maximum effort from all players, and even though you can say this applies to all teams, this is where we have had the edge in previous games. Basically, we didn't give the opposition an inch and we need to get back to this approach if we are take advantage of our fantastic start to the season.
 
@ said:
Hmmm no mention of how they were dominated in the ruck last week, I hope its been addressed
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We 100% deserved to lose that game because they dominated the ruck all night.

However Benji wont say that and throw his forwards under.

I expect the forwards or even wingers to mention it though. their take 1,2,3 was miles better then ours.
 
@ said:
Benji knows what he has to fix so hopefully he does it in action not just words. I’m hoping last week so an odd lull week and they bounce back with a much improved performance this week.
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I dunno, I think we could see the signs of last weeks lull coming in the previous two weeks and I think it has a lot to do with injuries to key players and HIA disruptions during games. Twal going down this week is just another blow, imo.
 
The loss to the Knights just goes to show how much the team missed Packer and Lawrence.. ET with HIA and LIddle coming off …Benji over played his hand a few times trying for the miracle play with last tackle options,having said that the team missed something like 52 tackles in that game,very poor considering they have put defence first and foremost..
They can be forgiven if they produce the form from the opening 5/6 rounds,missing key players and doing the best with what they have...this game will be a real test of their intestinal fortitude,hopefully they come back stronger and harder...
 
@ said:
One word - intensity.

It was way down against the Knights compared with the previous games this season.

I can only surmise that the view was "it is only the Knights" and the rest is history.

They had better show up like they did in Round 1 against the Eels this weekend or they might be on the end of another rude shock.
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Its going to be hard to maintain the intensity we need every week , the more the season progresses and the more fatigue sets in it gets a little harder every week

And we aren't slipping under the radar either anymore
 
I totally buy into the ‘this is not the old Tigers’ mentality but I think the team need to pass little tests along the way to convince us, and themselves, that a new culture is dawning. I reckon this week is one of those tests. Parra will play wide with sweeping deep plays and with backrowers hitting it off wide 2nd receivers. Our line speed, up and in formation and our scramble will need to be on the money
 
@ said:
@ said:
Hmmm no mention of how they were dominated in the ruck last week, I hope its been addressed

We 100% deserved to lose that game because they dominated the ruck all night.

**However Benji wont say that and throw his forwards under.**
I expect the forwards or even wingers to mention it though. their take 1,2,3 was miles better then ours.
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Click to expand...

Yeah I know.
I sometimes read players interviews and am convinced they think we (fans) don't have a clue
 
Hhhmmmm this is a real danger game with a capital D imo….We should really learn from the loss but I’m not brimming with confidence. We will more than likely start as favourites aswell so there’s our number 1 issue.
The ruck is where we must step up also, Knight dominated us for most of the game. And Parra are going to be up to the challenge after thumping manly. In my eyes with Packer out we must find another leader in the forwards, hopefully Matulino can do this job for us.
We don’t usually beat a team twice in a season too with the exception of the storm , so there’s another problem at hand.
Lastly I really think we’re a prop short aswell, would like to see Grant come onto the bench to add some more grunt plus his experience wouldn’t go astray also.
 
Gawd …so lucky the Tiger is not a black cat ...no one will hopefully have stepped on a crack, walked under a ladder or broken a mirror this week....

Oh and WESTS Tigers will be desperate not to have 2 L's in a row..
 
@ said:
Gawd …so lucky the Tiger is not a black cat ...no one will hopefully have stepped on a crack, walked under a ladder or broken a mirror this week....

Oh and WESTS Tigers will be desperate not to have 2 L's in a row..
Click to expand...

But will they be more desperate than Parra?
 
@ said:
Gawd …so lucky the Tiger is not a black cat ...no one will hopefully have stepped on a crack, walked under a ladder or broken a mirror this week....

Oh and WESTS Tigers will be desperate not to have 2 L's in a row..
Click to expand...

More fact than fiction in my comments to be honest Geo
 
Yes this week will be a test for the coach and the team to see if are capable to put a solid 80 minutes effort and come up with a win.

It’s often difficult to do and I think “no change unless injury” selection approach is in hope that existing combinations will provide a desired result. However, I would imagine that some players are being closely watched.
 
This game is critical for us. We have made an excellent start to the year and our stern defense has given us a chance to win every game. To my mind, our credibility and long term success hinges on the result of this game. Get beaten again and we drop down the ladder, lose confidence and start a bad habit - a losing one. We have to get back on track by increasing energy and returning to the workaholic, smothering type defense we applied in the first six rounds. Anything less and our season is in trouble. We win and we edge closer to the relative advantage of the Origin season and an easier run towards Top Eight qualification. Parramatta weren't great last week, they were just better than a diabolical Manly. However, they will gain confidence from the win and turn up ready to play. We have to win the ruck and nullify their halves. We've done it before against better teams and we can do it again.
 
All I want to see is effort. We've been so happy with our team so far this year due to the never die attitude.

It's been missing for the 2nd half of the manly game and the Knights game.

If we rattle the Eels early, they'll drop their bundle. They're a confidence team. We need to get up in their face right from kick-off.
 
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