Would have winning 60-0 actually changed anything in fans minds about our team and made them think suddenly oh we have turned the corner and can push for the premiership? No ofcourse not
It would have be just another oh It's just the Tigers , we destroyed them because they are crap but why didn't we get to 70 points we r so badd
Winning against the Tigers even if was to be in a big way isn't go to be the week this playing group turns the corner (flicks the switch).
If we are going to turn the corner and start convincing the doubters (including ourselves) it will happen against one of the Top 8 sides we face, ideally starting on the weekend in the Warriors. Put on a good display in those sort of games then we can feel happy that we are genuine and on the right path.
I am happy and relived to have won but in the context of a season and finals campaign I could care less about "only" getting a 24 point win over the Tigers on some Thursday night in Parramatta. No one will remember this game in a few years.
Sure it's fun to watch us blow someone away and wrack up the points and it's good for our F/A but they aren't the sort of wins that build the character and confidence to steel us through the back end of the season.
We came out in the second half and got the job done, we don't lose to rabble like this anymore. That's not complacecy we are just clearly better than the bottom half of the comp and have alot more tools and firepower at our disposal + more experience using them to get victories.
There were some improvements (completions & controlling possession / field position) and we did what we needed to do. I would much prefer putting our energy, mongrel and focus into tougher games coming up.
I said in the pre-game discussion that sometimes the Tigers turn up and have a crack and well guess what for about 50 mins they did just that.
It's completely unrealistic and unfair to expect to play perfect footy and romp home 50 to nil wins every time we come up against a lower ranked team and then when we don't do it say we were terrible.
We weren't cause a terrible team might have lost that game. We blew them away when push came to shove and we needed to get the business done. Same as last week against Dragons.
We all don't feel that great about where our defense is at (and our at times erractic attack) but I think we have all gotten so down in the dumps we have forgotten how to enjoy and celebrate a win and need to get over what the scoreline result is vs. what our expectation was of a "Top 4" team. We won, we got the 2 points and away from home.
It's in the books and now we move on.
Every week in the NRL is different, different weather, different players, different refs, different grounds - there are alot of variables at play that build towards a result one way or the other.
If it doesn't work out for us this year it doesn't mean it can't next - it took Flanno 5+ years (granted he started with a terrible squad)
Just 1 win against a strong top 8 side could really light the fire in this mob (and us fans). In the mean time the wins against the dross keep us in the picture on the ladder and hopefully are a springboard we can eventually launch from.