August 23, 2017 2:48pm
EELS captain Tim Mannah has admitted his side fell into the dangerous trap of believing the hype surrounding their title chances.
But the good news for long-suffering Parramatta fans is Mannah said they have been jolted back to life leading into Thursday night’s showdown against the Broncos.
Riding high on the back of six straight wins, the bottom-placed Knights brought Parramatta’s winning momentum to a grinding halt in round 23.
They responded with a dominant win over the struggling Titans last week and Mannah said the Suncorp Stadium clash with Brisbane was the perfect chance to see if they were genuine premiership contenders.
“It was a slap in the face we needed,” he said.
“I think we were a bit guilty of believing we were killing it. It was good to get that hurt feeling and that slap in the face this time of the year.
“It has made us a lot more focused and a lot more driven this next few weeks.
Tim Mannah says losing to the Knights was a ‘slap in the face’. Picture: Brett Costello“Brisbane have been throwing the ball around a lot and they will really test out or defence. We want to have our defence tested to see where we stand.”
The sides met four weeks ago in a fiery encounter and Mannah is expecting much of the same as the Broncos try to avenge their 28-14 defeat at ANZ Stadium.
After that spiteful match, the Eels slammed Brisbane firebrand Josh McGuire as “dirty” after he appeared to stomp on Mannah’s leg but the Parra prop says his Broncos rival won’t be a target on Thursday night.
“I think the last game we played had a bit of finals vibe about it. I was a good quality game,” Mannah said.
“Both teams were just giving it to each other, that’s obviously fresh in their minds and they will be wanting to come out and prove a point at Suncorp Stadium.
“It would be silly to focus on one person, they have so much strike all over the field.
“For us it’s a matter of containing the whole team and not worrying about one or two players.”
Josh McGuire treads on Tim Mannah's leg.The 29-year old was full of praise for mid-season recruit Mitchell Moses, who he credits for helping to spark Parramatta’s march into September.
“He was going through a real rough trot at the Tigers there, especially towards the end of his time,” Mannah said.
“It was getting ugly and messy and I can only imagine what sort of head space he must have been in that environment.
“So to come in and within days to slot right into a new club says a lot about him and the sort of person he is and how he can shake of criticism and how quickly he can stamp his authority on a team.
“He brings so much his energy to this team, he’s competitive and he never gives up on any play and is constantly pushing up around the footy just forcing the boys just to play football.”
Replies
WHY WON'T SNAKE GIVE TIMMY A BREAK
LOL
If it happens, I hope he dedicates it to Nathan Hindmarsh.
DITTO
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