Penrith coach Matt Elliott says his players must put it all on the line
By James Phelps
August 05, 2009 Penrith coach Matt Elliott would rather miss out on the finals than become cannon fodder for the Bulldogs or St George Illawarra in the playoffs.
With 12 teams in the running for a finals berth in a logjam, Elliott said scraping into the eight would not be good enough for his Panthers, who are in fifth spot.
"You really need momentum going into the finals," he said.
"There is no point going in with no form and being thrown out in the first week. What is the point of making the finals and being tossed out in the first week? That will not be good enough for our club and that is not what we are aiming for.
"We need to start building momentum now because just making the eight is not what we want.
"We are not really even looking at the table because we know if we play well and build then the rest will take care of itself."
There are just four points separating the Panthers from the 12th-placed Parramatta with five weeks to the finals.
"I think it was about the same last year," Elliott said.
"You have a number of teams that are in a position to make the finals and you see a couple hitting some form like the Tigers and Eels are at the moment. We could probably afford to lose a game or two mathematically but, as I said, we don't want to do that because finals football is all about momentum."
Of the teams outside the top four, the Panthers have arguably the toughest run home, beginning with the Dragons on Friday night.
"It is a really big game for us," Elliott said.
"That has been our focus. This is a big test and we will know where we are at after the match."
Despite winning three on the trot and facing a kind draw, Parramatta coach Daniel Anderson said the Eels were still outsiders to make the eight.
"We can't afford to slip up and we understand that," he said.
"We have a very big game this weekend against the Knights and it's very important for both teams but especially us.
"It would be very, very difficult for us to make the finals if we didn't get the chocolates this weekend.
"Even though we are only a few points away we are still a long shot.
"Our for-and-against is a bit off the mark but I don't know if it will be relevant.
"We just have to win games instead of worrying about that.
"We just need to win and that is the bottom line."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25885089-5018866,00.html
By James Phelps
August 05, 2009 Penrith coach Matt Elliott would rather miss out on the finals than become cannon fodder for the Bulldogs or St George Illawarra in the playoffs.
With 12 teams in the running for a finals berth in a logjam, Elliott said scraping into the eight would not be good enough for his Panthers, who are in fifth spot.
"You really need momentum going into the finals," he said.
"There is no point going in with no form and being thrown out in the first week. What is the point of making the finals and being tossed out in the first week? That will not be good enough for our club and that is not what we are aiming for.
"We need to start building momentum now because just making the eight is not what we want.
"We are not really even looking at the table because we know if we play well and build then the rest will take care of itself."
There are just four points separating the Panthers from the 12th-placed Parramatta with five weeks to the finals.
"I think it was about the same last year," Elliott said.
"You have a number of teams that are in a position to make the finals and you see a couple hitting some form like the Tigers and Eels are at the moment. We could probably afford to lose a game or two mathematically but, as I said, we don't want to do that because finals football is all about momentum."
Of the teams outside the top four, the Panthers have arguably the toughest run home, beginning with the Dragons on Friday night.
"It is a really big game for us," Elliott said.
"That has been our focus. This is a big test and we will know where we are at after the match."
Despite winning three on the trot and facing a kind draw, Parramatta coach Daniel Anderson said the Eels were still outsiders to make the eight.
"We can't afford to slip up and we understand that," he said.
"We have a very big game this weekend against the Knights and it's very important for both teams but especially us.
"It would be very, very difficult for us to make the finals if we didn't get the chocolates this weekend.
"Even though we are only a few points away we are still a long shot.
"Our for-and-against is a bit off the mark but I don't know if it will be relevant.
"We just have to win games instead of worrying about that.
"We just need to win and that is the bottom line."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,25885089-5018866,00.html
