Willow
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Sheens challenges Dragons
Saturday, 24 September 2005 @ 2:08 PM
sportal.com.au
Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has questioned whether St George Illawarra will cope with the pressure of being the favourite for Saturday's Preliminary Final between the two sides at Aussie Stadium.
The Tigers have arguably been the best-performed team in the finals following successive convincing wins over North Queensland and Brisbane but Sheens says the Dragons' experience gives them a distinct advantage.
"Nathan would be pretty confident about his team's chances of winning, based on their experience. (National selector) Bob McCarthy is saying eight Dragons players are in line to make the Australian team for the end-of-season tour," Sheens told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"I'm pretty happy with what I've got in my team, but I wouldn't think I'm entitled to be as confident as Nathan would be, based on the player experience levels.
"We're still proving ourselves to ourselves at our club, let alone proving ourselves to everyone else, and I think Nathan's concern would be about making sure his players are mentally prepared."
Sheens says his team has little to lose in the clash, while the Dragons have the added pressure of being expected to triumph.
"He has been saying in the media that the Dragons must give us respect and I can understand that, because if they lose tomorrow night they have under-achieved. If we lose we have already over-achieved, so we don't take any of that sort of baggage into the game.
"There is pressure on us, but it's a different sort of pressure to the pressure the Dragons would be experiencing. The expectations about us are coming just from us. The expectations about the Dragons are coming from most of the league community.
"The good thing for us is that we're getting more experienced with every week we stay alive in the competition. We've had two finals games now and handled them both well, so we'll see how we go this time."
http://ninemsn.sportal.com.au/default.aspx?s=leaguedisplay&id=71710
A tad arrogant?
Saturday, 24 September 2005 @ 2:08 PM
sportal.com.au
Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has questioned whether St George Illawarra will cope with the pressure of being the favourite for Saturday's Preliminary Final between the two sides at Aussie Stadium.
The Tigers have arguably been the best-performed team in the finals following successive convincing wins over North Queensland and Brisbane but Sheens says the Dragons' experience gives them a distinct advantage.
"Nathan would be pretty confident about his team's chances of winning, based on their experience. (National selector) Bob McCarthy is saying eight Dragons players are in line to make the Australian team for the end-of-season tour," Sheens told The Sydney Morning Herald.
"I'm pretty happy with what I've got in my team, but I wouldn't think I'm entitled to be as confident as Nathan would be, based on the player experience levels.
"We're still proving ourselves to ourselves at our club, let alone proving ourselves to everyone else, and I think Nathan's concern would be about making sure his players are mentally prepared."
Sheens says his team has little to lose in the clash, while the Dragons have the added pressure of being expected to triumph.
"He has been saying in the media that the Dragons must give us respect and I can understand that, because if they lose tomorrow night they have under-achieved. If we lose we have already over-achieved, so we don't take any of that sort of baggage into the game.
"There is pressure on us, but it's a different sort of pressure to the pressure the Dragons would be experiencing. The expectations about us are coming just from us. The expectations about the Dragons are coming from most of the league community.
"The good thing for us is that we're getting more experienced with every week we stay alive in the competition. We've had two finals games now and handled them both well, so we'll see how we go this time."
http://ninemsn.sportal.com.au/default.aspx?s=leaguedisplay&id=71710
A tad arrogant?