Coaching Insider: Round 18

Wests Tigers Head Coach Michael Maguire says his side are determined to turn around their tough run of form and ensure they "stay in the fight" against Canberra this Saturday.

Off the back of consecutive defeats that has seen the side slip to 11th on the ladder, Maguire said being able to control the game moments of tomorrow's game would be key and proof of the improvements in the team since the start of the year.

“We need to flip it around," Maguire enthused.

"It's that time of year now where we need to start getting some wins together.

"We're focused this week after not being able to nail certain aspects of the game last week so it's about making sure that we do that tomorrow.

“We’ve got to stay in the fight – we need to make sure that in those key moments in games we do that, whether it's off an error or building pressure.

“It’s those sorts of things we need to get better at and it's a good opportunity for us to do that tomorrow.”

After some mixed results in 2019 so far, Maguire said the progress in the team is certainly evident but important to capitalise on this weekend.

“We started our journey back in November and we mentioned a few things we wanted to achieve," he reflected. "Obviously we’re right in the mix now to be able to make sure we take the opportunity that's in front of us.

"The things we’ve been practicing, we need to make sure we do those for the full 80 minutes.

“We’re in the mix of the season right now so my big focus is on what we’re doing. There is a lot of pivotal stuff that happens in any team but tomorrow’s game is probably one of our most important games since I’ve been here,”

“The Raiders have been performing well but one thing I know about my team is that they can perform too — we’ve just got to do it for longer periods of time.”