St George Illawarra Dragons five-eighth Gareth Widdop is disappointed the Red-and-Whites were unable to overcome the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in their 21-12 loss at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah on Monday.
Despite their defeat, the England international is pleased with the direction the Red V are heading and is determined to take his comrades to the finals.
The 25-year-old is not daunted by the Wests Tigers’ victory and is eager to test himself against the young side at ANZ Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.
“The result wasn’t what we wanted but we played quite well in the first half; we played at a high tempo and we were in it,” said Widdop.
“It was 10-8 at halftime and I thought we were still in it and we’d done everything to the letter.
“Early in the second half we weren’t completing sets and we were giving away penalties and it was those little things that let us down.
“Manly are a quality side and we were giving possession so easily which gave them the opportunity to get away from us.
“We’ve gained a lot of confidence over the past few weeks and this loss won’t take away from that; we just need to keep our momentum going into the second half.
“We’ve been training hard and working on the aspects of our game that we can control and not putting energy into worrying about things that are out of our control.
“Our determination is showing on the field and I think the Tigers will be a good test for us this Sunday.
“We’re coming up to the backend of the season and we’re heading in the right direction.
“The Tigers had a great win over the Bulldogs but we’re not going to focus on that, it’s about us and what we can do out there.”
