Coaching Insider: Round 2

Wests Tigers Head Coach Michael Maguire says his side will take plenty of key learnings from their opening round win ahead of Sunday's clash against the New Zealand Warriors.

Ahead of the team's game this week, Maguire spoke on the experience of watching his first game back in the coaching box last weekend despite the tough conditions.

“I was proud of the way they played last week because they showed a lot of the practice we did throughout the pre-season," Maguire said of Round 1.

"But we also understand we’ve got to back it up. What goes on in 80 minutes in one game can be different in the next. It’s how they come together, how they turn up ready to go at training and we’ve got to do it all again.

"It’s what the game's about — it’s about being able to do it consistently if you want to be one of those top teams.”

Maguire is set to welcome back a key face from injury this week with captain Moses Mbye closing in on a return from a knee complaint that kept him out of Round 1.

“He’s really trained well over this period," Maguire said. "We sat him out last week because we felt he wasn’t there but we’re feeling close now.

“In the position he plays, one of his main assets is the speed that he has to be able to move on to the ball and chime into the line.

"Those were the things that he wasn’t hitting at the top level, but now he’s back at that I’ll look forward to seeing him come back to the team.”

Wests Tigers faced off against the Warriors just three weeks earlier in a trial match at Whangarei, with Maguire saying that game reaffirmed the key to shutting down the visitors this Sunday — their outside backs bringing the ball out of trouble.

“We’re focused on what we’re doing but we know they’ve got a big back field," he said. "We have to be stronger than where we’ve been defensively and that’s a big part of what we’ll focus (on this week)."

See what Maguire had to say in full about this week's game in the video above!