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Jeremy Monahan
15 June 2012
Rabbitohs Head Coach Michael Maguire says his team is concentrating on its own performance and not that of their opponents in the lead up to Saturday nights battle with the Parramatta Eels.
A lot has been said and written about South Sydney coming against their former number seven in Chris Sandow, but Maguire says that has been of little attention to the side in the build up to 7:30pm Saturday.
Our focus is about ourselves and what we want to do following our last performance, Maguire said.
Weve spoken about trying to perform for the 80 minutes in both attack and defence and thats what well be trying to do.
Theres obviously some hype about Chrissy (Sandow) but at the end of the day were improving as a group and thats what well be aiming for again this weekend.
Maguire says an 80 minute performance will be required to beat the side that currently sits at the foot of the competition table.
Concentration at the right time, especially in defence, Maguire said when asked about the key areas of improvement from the loss to the Bulldogs two weeks ago.
Our attack is progressing nicely but defence is obviously an area that our teams focussed on.
We need to focus on that for us to move forward in this competition.
Having reached the halfway mark of the season, Maguire sees the second half of the season as a continuation of the first half, not necessarily a fresh start following two byes that were scheduled close together.
Its definitely a continuation but for us now weve got the back end of a marathon ahead of us and weve made good progress to this point, Maguire explained.
Its about us making the same progress at the back end of the season.
Were looking for a slight improvement each week and were looking to do that in a number of areas so we can get to the business end in good shape.
The Rabbitohs have often been criticised for faltering when named as favourites, but Maguire says this new breed of Rabbitohs players are the exact opposite.
Not at all. I think were enjoying progressing as a group and thats been our focus all year, Maguire said when asked if this side had the same front-runners affliction as previous Rabbitohs outfits.
We put enough pressure on ourselves to perform each week and thats our focus.
If we can walk off the field knowing were working hard and continually trying to improve things then were doing what weve set out to do. Thats the biggest thing.
Maguire says the Eels will have similar goals to his side this season.
I think theyre always looking for improvement too, Maguire said.
Theyve had some tough times in the last few months and they performed well against the Sharks.
Its up to us to do what we do best and play the way we can, and Im sure the result will sort itself out at the end of that.
Having developed a close relationship with Eels Coach Stephen Kearney during their time together at the Melbourne Storm, would the two of them be conversing this week in the lead up to Saturday nights confrontation?
Not a lot of talk this week, Maguire said with a smile.
Well be both be focussed on what we need to achieve this week as coaches, but Im sure well have a chat afterwards.
Source: http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news-dis...-Maguire/57104
15 June 2012
Rabbitohs Head Coach Michael Maguire says his team is concentrating on its own performance and not that of their opponents in the lead up to Saturday nights battle with the Parramatta Eels.
A lot has been said and written about South Sydney coming against their former number seven in Chris Sandow, but Maguire says that has been of little attention to the side in the build up to 7:30pm Saturday.
Our focus is about ourselves and what we want to do following our last performance, Maguire said.
Weve spoken about trying to perform for the 80 minutes in both attack and defence and thats what well be trying to do.
Theres obviously some hype about Chrissy (Sandow) but at the end of the day were improving as a group and thats what well be aiming for again this weekend.
Maguire says an 80 minute performance will be required to beat the side that currently sits at the foot of the competition table.
Concentration at the right time, especially in defence, Maguire said when asked about the key areas of improvement from the loss to the Bulldogs two weeks ago.
Our attack is progressing nicely but defence is obviously an area that our teams focussed on.
We need to focus on that for us to move forward in this competition.
Having reached the halfway mark of the season, Maguire sees the second half of the season as a continuation of the first half, not necessarily a fresh start following two byes that were scheduled close together.
Its definitely a continuation but for us now weve got the back end of a marathon ahead of us and weve made good progress to this point, Maguire explained.
Its about us making the same progress at the back end of the season.
Were looking for a slight improvement each week and were looking to do that in a number of areas so we can get to the business end in good shape.
The Rabbitohs have often been criticised for faltering when named as favourites, but Maguire says this new breed of Rabbitohs players are the exact opposite.
Not at all. I think were enjoying progressing as a group and thats been our focus all year, Maguire said when asked if this side had the same front-runners affliction as previous Rabbitohs outfits.
We put enough pressure on ourselves to perform each week and thats our focus.
If we can walk off the field knowing were working hard and continually trying to improve things then were doing what weve set out to do. Thats the biggest thing.
Maguire says the Eels will have similar goals to his side this season.
I think theyre always looking for improvement too, Maguire said.
Theyve had some tough times in the last few months and they performed well against the Sharks.
Its up to us to do what we do best and play the way we can, and Im sure the result will sort itself out at the end of that.
Having developed a close relationship with Eels Coach Stephen Kearney during their time together at the Melbourne Storm, would the two of them be conversing this week in the lead up to Saturday nights confrontation?
Not a lot of talk this week, Maguire said with a smile.
Well be both be focussed on what we need to achieve this week as coaches, but Im sure well have a chat afterwards.
Source: http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/news-dis...-Maguire/57104
