After a scrappy win over the North Queensland Cowboys in tough conditions, Chris Lawrence says the Wests Tigers can be content with their first-up performance but know they have much room for improvement.
Cairns threw everything it had at the Tigers and Cowboys, with a blackout delaying play by more than 40 minutes, then humidity making open play difficult before a heavy downpour fell at the end of the match.
The Tigers out-paced the Cowboys from start to finish, with every tackle, run and pass laced with energy and enthusiasm.
"A lot of positives, pretty scrappy game in middle stages and towards the end there, but that's what you expect from a first trial," Lawrence said.
"Given the conditions, very hot very humid and a bit fo rain there at the end, plenty of positives but probably a lot more things we can work on."
If anything over-enthusiasm was the weakest aspect in the Wests Tigers' performance, with passes going to ground or into the grandstand with players eager to have a run after a long pre-season.
Control is an area Lawrence is sure they'll be working on during the week at training before they take on the Cronulla Sharks next Saturday at Campbelltown.
"I think we just pushed the pass too much that first 20 minutes, we had a lot of opportunities, got some penalties that were given to us but didn't take advantage of those," the second-rower said.
"I think we turned the ball over I think three or four times we had an opportunity on the Cowboys' goal-line and we didn't complete one of those sets in the first 20 minutes. You can't really do that in a first-grade standard and in an NRL game."
