Coaching Insider: Round 7

Wests Tigers Head Coach Michael Maguire says his side are ready to deliver another strong performance on Sunday night against the Bulldogs after a positive week of training.

While happy with their free-flowing attack last week and the right result over North Queensland, Maguire was quick to highlight that his side had plenty to work on throughout the week in their bid for back-to-back victories.

“They’ve had a good week of training," Maguire enthused after the final training session on Saturday. 

"We want to back up what we did in the first half last week.

“We have a lot to work on — we have been head down all week working on things we need to improve on because we know we’re in for an 80-minute performance tomorrow.

“I always talk about the belief that I have in this playing group but it’s about doing that consistently now.”

“We’re working every single day to prepare like you’re playing in a Grand Final — that is my mentality in the team and that’s what I want from my players," he added.

“That’s the whole reason why we play the game. We work extremely hard for a special day, but it all happens on what you do now, and we’ve got to do that to create those opportunities.

“You get the rewards off the hard work and I’m proud of this group and the way they work. It’s making sure we do that in the most important part of the week and that’s the 80 minutes when we run out on the field on the weekend.

Maguire also said he had no problems with playing games at Bankwest Stadium, following two season-ending injuries suffered by the Sydney Roosters last night.

Wests Tigers will play an away game at the venue tomorrow night before running out in a home fixture the following weekend, but Maguire said there was no cause for concern about the impact of the surface.

“I heard this morning that the ground has been looked at and it’s all ok,” he said.

“It’s play on. Unfortunately, in our game you have players go through those sorts of things but for us it’s about what we want to do on the field.

"If the boys prepare themselves enough then you make sure you’re in your best shape when you get out there on the field.”