Broncos forward Lillian Yarrow said the side still has the belief they can be a dominant force, despite trying to prevent a fourth straight defeat when they face Parramatta.
Last year’s defending premiers have lost an unprecedented three games in a row to drop down to fifth on the ladder after suffering losses to top six teams the Raiders, Roosters and last week, the Titans.
While their loss in Canberra was a heavy one, in the grand final rematch and the local derby, the side showed patches of what has made them a powerhouse of the competition, but their lapses cost them the results.
“I think it's just us, we're kind of shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit,” Yarrow said.
“I don't think any team's better than us … I think we have the team to take it out.
“I think we just have to believe in that ourselves and have that confidence in ourselves to do that.
“I just think (it’s important) we just stick to what we've been doing, just focus on us and just keep training hard and keep showing up every day …
“I think (we are) still building that connection with the squad and then (it’s about) just believing in ourselves really. I think we've been good in moments.
“We just need to ace those other moments that we've kind of dropped the ball a little bit.
“It's like the Rooster game, for example, we smashed the first half out, we just need to do it for the full 70; that's on us.”
A key factor in recent results has been the absence for four-time winning skipper Ali Brigginshaw, who was serving a three-game suspension for a dangerous throw.
Back this week to partner with halfback Jesse Southwell, her return to the spine and on-field leadership are bound to be a big boost against a confident Eels outfit spearheaded by former Broncos forward Keilee Joseph.
“Definitely (good to have Brigginshaw back), she's ready, she's been ripping into the gym, she looks good …,” Yarrow said.
“I think she's already just offered a lot just at training, just energy-wise, she has a lot of experience and that's obviously going to bring a lot to us this weekend on the field, so that'll be good.”
Against the Eels, Yarrow said it was important to turn around their poor opening against the Gold Coast last week and start on the front foot.
“They're coming off a big win, they've got a strong team - but we're not really too worried about them, we're more worried about us and what we want to do and how we want to play,” Yarrow said.
“They're a great team, they've got a good forward pack and I think that's our challenge - to just start fast and beat them to the jump.”
Match: Eels v Broncos
Round 9 -
home Team
Eels
10th Position
away Team
Broncos
5th Position
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
