Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles Coach Steven Hales says his team needs to close out games as it searches for its first win of the season in the NSW Cup.
With one draw and two losses to their name, the Sea Eagles sit in 10th place ahead of tomorrow’s clash against the undefeated South Sydney at Lottoland.
“The first three rounds have been patchy. We have had some really good moments in those games there,’’ Hales said.
“However, the difference in our best and worst performance is too far away. We want to be more consistent with our performance. We have been in a position to win all three games with 15 minutes to go but we can’t finish it off.
“We need to start nailing those opportunities. Although it is still early in the season, we don’t want to be giving points away.
“For us this week, it is about putting in a really good 80 minutes and a performance we can be proud of, especially at home.”
Hales has named several Manly NRL players in the Blacktown team headed by the likes of Trent Hodkinson, Lachlan Croker, Taniela Paseka, Lloyd Perrett and Kelepi Tanginoa.
“We are really excited about the challenge of taking on an undefeated Souths. It is a challenge I feel we are up for,’’ Hales added.
“There is no doubt that we will benefit from the NRL boys coming back to us. I know they are jumping at the bid to play again
“The NRL players who come back to Blacktown give us a lot of composure and direction. We have a saying that you need to ‘own your moments’ and players of that calibre always find ways to do that.”
Hales said Hodkinson (pictured below) turned in a strong performance for Blacktown in the 18-all draw to the Warriors last weekend.
“Trent has a very good head on his shoulders and he makes other players around him better,’’ Hales said.
“We all know what Trent can do with the ball but the professionalism he shows when he does come back to the NSW Cup is a really good example for other boys to follow, and to see what it takes to play at that level.”
Kick-off at Lottoland is 12.45pm on Saturday.
