Wests Tigers co-captain Chris Lawrence says matching, and stopping, the momentum of a resurgent Parramatta Eels will be the key to his side's chances of bouncing back with a win this Sunday at ANZ Stadium.
Comfortable winners when the two sides met earlier in the season, Lawrence said while the team was preparing for a more intense Parramatta side this weekend following their breakthrough win over Manly, the biggest thing would still be about maintaining energy that was somewhat lacking last weekend.
"They're [Parramatta] going to come fired up for that first 20 minutes, definitely," Lawrence said.
"They did that last time we played them and they showed on the weekend what what they're capable of when they put it together. They're such a dangerous side that you've got to limit their time with the ball.
"As a team, you've really got to try and stop their momentum.
"When they get momentum, they're a team that gets on a roll and they're hard to stop.
"It's going to be about us matching in that first bit and taking them down to the last 10 minutes."
While missing last weekend against Newcastle, Lawrence said the loss was one that the team can learn on moving forward — particularly after a strong start to the 2018 season so far.
"I thought the boys were good, but in patches," he said.
"They did all the hard work in the second half to get themselves back in to the game, and were really in a position to win the game and just didn't close it out, which is something we've tried to work on.
"We've won a few games this year by doing that well, but we've still got work to do.
"It's a good lesson for the young guys and I think it's a reminder for everyone that if you clock off or don't do your job for any moment of the game, you can lose a game in the last few minutes."
See what Chris Lawrence had to say in full about this week's game in the video above!
