The Sea Eagles currently sit outright competition leaders, but there is no sign of complacency leading into their clash against the Titans on Sunday.
Manly workhorse Matt Ballin today fronted the media, ensuring that the Sea Eagles don’t have their heads in the finals series and are focused on finishing off the home and away season on a strong note.
“It's one game at a time. I think if you are going further ahead you are getting ahead of yourself,” Ballin said.
“We are probably expected to win but we are not going into the game thinking that way, we are looking for a tough solid game of footy like we have had the last month.”
Despite Gold Coast’s recent form, the Manly hooker conceded that his side would have to be at their best on Sunday, especially considering the game is on the Gold Coast.
“We respect every team for their ability and the Titans have been playing some good footy, some strong footy, they’ve probably been just missing out on games like we saw on the weekend by eight points against the Roosters,” Ballin said.
“Up at the Gold Coast they are very tough and they play a strong brand of footy where they just hit it up the middle then use their backs out wide with Dave Taylor.
“We have to be very good to stop them.”
Manly head into this clash coming off a disappointing loss to the Rabbitohs, however Ballin believes that the loss may point out a few deficiencies in the side and give them something to work on as they lead into the Titans game and into the finals series.
“I guess the main thing out of a loss is that it highlights what you are not doing well," Ballin said.
“If you're winning games you probably look at your weaknesses a little bit but you sort of gloss over them.
“We’ve had a long hard look at ourselves on video from the weekend’s game and we want to fix up where we went wrong.
“A loss like that does make you want to work harder and be better at what you haven’t been doing very well.”
