Wests Tigers coach Ivan Cleary insists his side are capable of playing September football – provided they can continue their giant killing run over the final six games of the NRL season.
Less than a week after knocking St George Illawarra off top spot, the Tigers stayed within touch of the top eight with an impressive 22-6 win over new ladder leaders South Sydney.
They victory lifts them to ninth spot on 20 points, four points adrift of the Sydney Roosters, Penrith, the Warriors and Brisbane.
And while the Roosters and Warriors can edge ahead with wins on Sunday, Cleary believes his team have now found the form that could challenge in the finals.
“Absolutely. The challenge for us is to improve on that next week,” Cleary said.
“Finals are a long way away. We’re not worrying about too much about that. We’re worrying about preparing for the (Canterbury) Bulldogs next week.”
Veteran Robbie Farah, who celebrated his 250th game for the club with a win, said the challenge was to maintain their form against teams below them on the ladder.
Over their final six fixtures, the Tigers meet the Bulldogs (A), Newcastle (A), Canberra (A), Dragons (H), Manly (H) and the Rabbitohs again (A).
“We’ve just beaten the Dragons and Bunnies. It doesn’t get any bigger than that at the moment, the two best teams in the competition,” Farah said.
“The challenge for us to go into games over the next couple of weeks I dare say we’re expected to win, but they’re the ones that you’ve got to be up for.
“It’s easy to get up for the games against the top teams in the competition, and now we just got to build on what we’ve done in the last two weeks and keep that momentum rolling.”
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Who are the hardest working big men in the NRL?
Some of the best TV we'll see all year!
For someone who insists he’s a centre, Zac Lomax is a top-quality winger. He is set to cost himself hundreds of thousands of dollars…
The rugby league world is in mourning after the death of Balmain Tigers legend Keith Barnes, who has passed away at the age of…
The Dolphins suffered injuries to three of their key players as half Isaiya Katoa inspired their 26-16 win over Wests Tigers at Suncorp Stadium…
South Sydney have suffered another huge blow with Lachlan Ilias carried off in NSW Cup after a late shot from Warriors hooker Freddy Lussick.…
