Aaron Woods has urged his teammates to go back to basics as St George Illawarra aim to snap a four-game losing streak against the Knights in Wollongong on Sunday.
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The Dragons opened their 2022 account with a 28-16 win over the Warriors, but their season has been in freefall over the past month, culminating in defeats to the Panthers, Sharks, Eels and Rabbitohs. They now return to WIN Stadium desperate to notch their second win.
While he admits the side is frustrated, Woods - who on Tuesday was named on an extended bench for the clash - believes the Dragons can return to the winner's circle by doing "the little things right".
"It's all about honesty in everything that we're doing, no one can hide. Everyone's got some part of their game that they need to fix. But we know what we've got to fix and improve, and we've got Sunday to prove all of that," the 31-year-old said.
"We've gone back to the drawing board and watched the tape, and we've found a few areas of the game that we want to fix up. We just need to work hard and believe in what we're doing. We've created a lot of opportunities but we're not put the icing on the cake, so we need to be better in a few areas of the game. When we do that, we know we can challenge."
However, standing in their way is a Knights outfit also desperate to win. Newcastle started the season with impressive victories over the Roosters and Tigers, but have dropped their past three games.
"We've just got to focus on ourselves, we've just got to worry about playing the footy that we can. After starting the year OK, we've fallen into a bit of a lull the last couple of weeks," Woods said.
"Every team goes through it throughout the year, we're just going through it early. But when you do go through these situations, you become a bigger and better side. For us, we need to do the little things right in the systems we're doing in attack and defensively, and it will turn. Everyone talks about luck but you've got to create your own luck - you've got to put yourself in the right position in the game. But the attitude here is good and we're all upbeat and positive."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
