Press Conference: NRL Round 12
Wests Tigers Coach Ivan Cleary says his side's ability to grind out a victory while not playing their best footy was pleasing for him and the team going forward.
Having squandered leads earlier in the season despite playing much better than today, Cleary said the way in which his team overcame a spirited Bulldogs side was crucial to their momentum in season 2018.
"It was an important game for us today, and we just somehow needed to win," Cleary said.
"We found a way to win.
"It wasn't our best performance by a long shot but our defence was really good in the second half.
"We weren't able to build much pressure today for various reasons, so we always found ourselves defending our line. But I thought we did a really good job in that second half to keep our line in check.
"We were able to get enough to win, and that's what matters."
2018 Match Highlights: Rd.12, Wests Tigers vs. Bulldogs
The addition of Josh Reynolds in the second half proved a turning point for the home side, who went on to score 10 unanswered points off the back of the former Bulldog's energy and enthusiasm in attack.
"We started the second half much better than the first half, but we couldn't take advantage of it," he said.
"We got a good surge from the crowd when Josh came on and it really added to what we could do.
"We brought Josh here for a reason, and he's definitely got a big role to play in this team.
"I think he came on at a point where the forwards were tired and got us on the front foot," co-captain Chris Lawrence added.
"He took advantage of his running game and we started to get the momentum when he came on."
See what Ivan Cleary and Chris Lawrence had to say about today's game in the video above!
