Defence is a key factor in any NRL game and for South Sydney Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire, he expects to see an improvement from his side in that department, after his side won a high-scoring affair 44-32 against the Penrith Panthers.
With all the media attention now turning to the blockbuster Good Friday clash against the Canterbury Bulldogs and the possible return of Ben Barba, Maguire said that his side’s priority was to fix up their defence.
“I’m not focusing on that. We’ll look at our game and how we can improve,” said Maguire.
Despite that, however, he was full of praise for the Panthers and the way they played, admitting that they showed great resolve to come back the way they did on a warm Autumn day.
“Credit to Penrith, they kept fighting,” he said.
“Under the circumstances of the day with the heat and things like that they probably handled it a bit better than us at times.
“Our execution and our completions of sets put us into a lot of pressure positions but I was glad we fought to the end.”
Despite their stirring comeback that almost produced a win, Cleary wants to see a more rounded performance from his side across 80 minutes and wants his side to believe in themselves more.
“I was very pleased with the 35-minute period in the second half but on the flipside of that it was the absolute opposite,” Cleary said.
“We can do it, we just have to believe in ourselves. If we back ourselves … then we’re a chance.”
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