They face the toughest run home of any NRL finals contenders but Wests Tigers insist form rather than ladder position is their primary focus.
Consecutive losses prior to last weekend’s bye took the shine off the Tigers’ seven-game winning streak and also left them scrapping for their top eight lives.
While they remain just two wins behind second placed Canterbury, the Tigers are also now just one win ahead of the ninth-placed Warriors.
But centre Chris Lawrence said the Tigers were not concerned by the ladder.
“It’s just about getting our season back on track and playing good footy,” Lawrence said ahead of Monday’s training session.
“For us it’s about getting back to our fundamentals that won us those seven games in a row.
“Where we’re sitting on the ladder hasn’t been mentioned because if we don’t turn the way we’re playing around then it won’t matter.”
Compounding problems for the Tigers is their daunting schedule over the last nine rounds of the regular season starting with Friday night’s meeting with high-flying Canterbury at Allianz Stadium.
Five of their games are against teams inside the top eight, including three away from home against North Queensland, South Sydney and the Bulldogs.
The Cowboys, who are in seventh, equal on 20 competition points with the Tigers, also have five top-eight sides in their run home – including four straight against Melbourne, the Tigers, Bulldogs and Manly after this weekend’s bye.
That run is followed by a home game against the Warriors – who loom as the biggest threat to those sides currently in the finals bracket.
The Bulldogs also face five top-eight sides, while Cronulla, Brisbane and South Sydney all have the friendliest draws with just three games against sides in the top half of the ladder.
The Sharks don’t face another likely finalist until round 24 when they host South Sydney.
That match is the Rabbitohs’ only meeting with a top-four side, giving them an excellent chance of pushing for a top-four finish, which this year guarantees a second bite of the cherry under the news finals format.
Adopting the baby steps mantra instilled by rookie coach Michael Maguire, winger Nathan Merritt said the Bunnies could not get ahead of themselves given they could tumble out of the top eight with consecutive losses.
“It’s a better feeling in the club this year compared to previous years, but you’ve got to keep working each week to improve,” said Merritt, who found form with a double in Sunday’s big win over Penrith.
“If you don’t improve, you’re not going to do yourself any good in the top eight.”
At the other end of the ladder, Parramatta are facing a monumental task getting off the bottom rung.
The only top-eight sides they don’t face in their last nine games are Cronulla and the Cowboys.