Wests Tigers co-captain Elijah Taylor says his side's return to a steely defensive attitude was the key for their victory over the North Queensland Cowboys.
And as they look to re-establish themselves as a genuine contender in 2018 when they take on the high-flying Penrith Panthers this week, Taylor believes that attitude will be the answer once again.
Having lost three games in a row prior to last Thursday's victory — including their heaviest defeat of the season against the Warriors in Auckland — the return to confidence was perhaps the most notable thing in the win over North Queensland, with the hosts showing both their attacking class and defensive resolve.
"I just felt we had a better attitude in defence," Taylor reflected on the win.
"We were working better for each other, pushing harder from marker and just those little things that we really built our season on in the first couple of games. We'd gone away from that a little and kind of took that for granted, so it's good to get back to what we know. The confidence comes from when we go back to what we're good at — scramble and working hard for each other — we seem to play better as a team.
"The attitude is a big thing for us in defence.
"We need to be willing to make tackles and look to make extra tackles than what you have to, and win them.
"In the wrestle, it's about trying to be and be more dominant, and it's something we were doing well up until Round 5 — it was our blueprint for success and we started to go away from that.
"Putting the team above yourself, that was the blueprint for us. The fans see it and everyone else can see it when we're working hard and turning up for each other — we just have to keep it like that.
"We went back to it against the Cowboys and hopefully we can continue it against Penrith this week.
See what Elijah Taylor had to say in full about this week's game in the video above!
