The Wests Tigers have shaken their 'soft' forward pack tag after dominating the Warriors and the Sea Eagles in consecutive weeks, according to halfback Luke Brooks.
With Aaron Woods leading the way and heavily supported by the likes Tim Grant, Sauaso Sue and Ava Seumanufagai the limited interchanges have worked in the club's favour.
Though they ended up having the last laugh on Monday night, the Tigers came under fire in the off-season when they let Martin Taupau leave the club to sign a rich four-year deal with Manly.
Producing the second-most points (70) in the opening fortnight, Brooks said it wouldn't have been possible if not for the platform provided by the Tigers' forwards.
"We have thrown the ball around a bit more but in saying that our forwards have been outstanding. They are running hard, generating quick play the balls and we're playing off the back of that," Brooks said.
"It does make it a lot easier with our big men going forward and playing the way they are. It's good to play behind that pack and I think the reduced interchanges are definitely working in our favour.
"We always knew we had a strong forward pack and they have shown that over the past fortnight."
Any concerns over the club's depth were doused when Grant left South Sydney to sign with the Tigers in January.
With the Titans to come this Saturday night, only notorious metre-eaters Woods and Tedesco have produced more metres than the 28-year-old Grant so far this season (122.9 metres per game).
"Timmy Grant has been a great addition for us. I think we were missing that one front-rower in the pre-season," Brooks said.
"He brings a lot of experience and plenty of go-forward. It's good to have him there up front, and as you can see it's helping us out.
"Jesse Sue has come into his lock position and he's doing a great job too. The boys that have come in to cover Marty's position are doing well. We have every confidence in any player coming in.
"The toughest thing for us this weekend will be the short turnaround between Monday to Saturday. We just have to rest up and get ready for that."
Having missed the Tigers' season-opener due to suspension Brooks was grateful to slot back in alongside five-eighth Mitchell Moses with good effect against Manly.
"It was good to blow the cobwebs out. I was blowing a bit there in the first half but it was good to get my first hit-out out of the way and get the win," Brooks said.
"It was pretty tough to sit out of last week. Training hard all pre-season and missing the first round wasn't the best but it was good the boys could get the win and that we could back it up."
