The Tigers’ buoyant start to the NRL season is seeming like a distant memory but coach Ivan Cleary reckons he has the solution.
Rediscover their rhythm.
After winning five of their first six games, Cleary’s men have lost three on the trot, their latest being a 26-4 humbling from the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday.
“Tonight was probably the first time, as an 80-minute performance, that we didn’t play well enough,” Cleary said.
“To their credit, they took their opportunities with the ball. They built pressure well, their kicking game was good.”
Ball control was a hallmark of the Tigers’ early outings but has become a weakness in recent weeks.
That had flowed into other parts of their game, resulting in disjointed play with and without the ball.
“Our rhythm throughout the game, certainly the last couple of weeks, we haven’t had that.
“It’s back to basics. If you get the basics right, you give yourself a chance to win games.”
The Tigers’ cause wasn’t helped by the early loss of Chris Lawrence to a head knock.
Cleary didn’t bite at suggestions his team were unlucky to have two players sent to the sin bin.
He did feel the second, when Elijah Taylor was ousted following successive Tigers penalties on their line, was questionable.
“I didn’t feel like we were deliberately giving penalties away,” Cleary said.
“They were all different. And that one was an offside penalty when they were shifting the ball and the guy (Taylor) was defending in the middle.
“But it’s the ref’s call in the context of the game. He’ll have the best answer to that.”
Co-captain Benji Marshall says his team will need to find a way to cope better without possession as they eye a five-day turnaround before facing the rejuvenated North Queensland Cowboys.
“We couldn’t sustain the pressure that they put on us. They taught us a lesson about building pressure and they played pretty well.”