Beau Ryan believes Saturday night’s confidence-building win over St George Illawarra has perfectly set up the Wests Tigers’ run towards the NRL finals, but says they can’t afford to relax.

The versatile back said the Tigers came together before their round 22 clash with Parramatta determined to finish strongly in their final five games.

The Tigers have won two from two since then to have their finals destiny firmly in their own hands, sitting on 26 points with three matches to play.

He agreed with coach Tim Sheens that they can’t clock off just yet, with four teams still snapping at their heels in the chase for eighth spot.

“We’re definitely not safe yet,” Ryan told AAP.

“A win is just getting us in the right direction. We’re starting to play the footy we played at the start of the year and the back end of last year.

“We’re confident we can do our own individual jobs and when we do that we win.

“You want to go into games with confidence and we’re a confident side. A win (like the 22-12 victory over the Dragons) can only be good for us.”

Sheens said none of the four teams – Dragons, Canberra, Gold Coast or Newcastle – could be ruled out from making a run at eighth spot, reminding his team that every remaining game was still considered a “must win”.

“There’s still three games to go. Those six points are vital,” Sheens said.

“Our for and against has improved again, which is important.

“You can’t expect that (the Dragons are) gone.

“It’s very tough for them now, or any team that are four behind us, but it’s like being in front with ten to go.

“You still can’t switch off. You’ve got three tough games in front of us.”

Reading from the same song sheet as his coach, Ryan declared: “We divided our year into these last five games being our season. Every game is a must win for us in our eyes.”