Coaching Insider: Round 10

Wests Tigers Head Coach Michael Maguire says he's looking forward to a "great challenge" this Thursday as his side head south to face the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park.

Off the back of their strong win over the Penrith Panthers in Magic Round, Maguire's men will now face one of the strongest sides in the competition on Thursday — Melbourne themselves coming off a 54-point drubbing of the Parramatta Eels.

Understanding how big the challenge is for Wests Tigers this week, Maguire said it was a good test to see if the side could deliver their consistency against the best.

“It’s a game I’m looking forward to seeing how our players perform," Maguire said.

"We've been up and down and it’s up to the players to get out and perform in the way I know they can. I think it's a great challenge for us.

“We’re growing – we’ve had some ups and downs but one thing I have seen since I’ve arrived is they’re a real hungry group.

"I’m really looking forward to going down to Melbourne. The Storm have set the standard for a while but one thing I do know is everyone is beatable at some stage.

The Storm have set the standard for a while but one thing I do know is that everyone is beatable at some stage.

Michael Maguire Wests Tigers Coach

"If we go down and perform our best, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Guilty of some slow starts in recent weeks, Wests Tigers flew out of the blocks last week against Penrith with five tries in the opening 17 minutes, but Maguire was adamant that the important thing would be producing that for the entire game.

"We had a good start against Penrith and that led to a good performance, but that's the first time we've done it," he said. "They've got to do it again now and they've got to make sure they call upon all those little things we've been doing to this point.

“The accountability to each other is something they’ve been talking about."

Key to that will no doubt be the performances of veterans Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah, who both took home Dally M points in the dominant win over Penrith.

“I know one thing about Robbie and Benji is that they’re really focused on growing this group," enthused Maguire. "They're working hard to build this consistency.

they’re working hard to build this consistency,” said Maguire.

“These boys — as a whole — are prepared to work and grow. They’re a hungry group and they’ve got to show that this week. If they do that off the back of two of the older boys on the way, I think that’s exciting for us."