Coaching Insider: Round 21

A nine-day turnaround has given Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire and his men plenty of time to reflect on last week’s disappointing loss to the Warriors — giving the squad motivation for their Round 21 clash against Canterbury-Bankstown.

Maguire has liked what he’s seen from his players this week as they prepare for the match on the Gold Coast.

 “We’ve had a positive week,” Maguire said.

“It’s been a longer week, so we’ve been able to reflect. We’ve had some positive training sessions.

“What I have seen this week is the boys getting around each other. We have to be positive with what we face against the Bulldogs.”

Although Maguire understands his players have plenty of improvement ahead of themselves, he’s confident in his squad’s capabilities, but has called on more consistency over the coming weeks.

“The boys are very capable with how they can play, but it’s about doing it over and over. It’s about building pressure on the opposition,” he said.

“What builds a rugby league team is the pressure you put on the opposition.

“We need to be better for longer periods of time. There are a lot of positives, but we need to be consistent.”

Coming into Round 21, Wests Tigers sat two wins outside the top eight with five rounds remaining, however Maguire is still optimistic his side can play finals footy in 2021.

“The competition is wide open,” Maguire declared

“There are a lot of positives around various parts of our game and there are things we need to be way better at.

“The season is a funny one. It’s ebbed and flowed … there’s plenty of footy to be played.

“If your group comes together in the right manner and there’s belief around each other, then you can create what you like to create.”