A 36-12 defeat at the hands of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon was another low point in this difficult Wests Tigers season.
The Tigers were able to immediately respond to the Bulldogs' opening try via an impressive David Nofoaluma four-pointer but then went on to concede five straight tries.
After being handed the challenging task of improving the short-term results of the club, interim coach Brett Kimmorley has identified two main areas that need improvement - possession and defence.
"We certainly need to stay very united. It's a really difficult time for the club at the moment," Kimmorley said.
"We gave away eight penalties and 13 errors ... we gave [the Bulldogs] 20 sets with [our poor play] and we had just under 40% of the ball.
"So you know, I thought we tried reasonably hard. But trying in this competition sometimes doesn't allow you to be good enough.
"Everyone tries. Now, it's about trying to get that weighted possession - if we can, back to 50/50.
"It was something we tried to speak about that hurt us last week. Manly had a big flow of ball and then the points came on the back of that.
"We didn't concede a try through structure or their good stuff - we conceded tries through the weight of possession and some quick play-the-balls.
"And in the end, you are just scrambling and get found out a little bit.
"We need to be a really good side, we need to be a tough side, we need to learn how to be a really tough defensive team ... and we're in a pretty difficult time. "
Match Highlights - #NRLBulldogsTigers 🎥
— NRL (@NRL) June 19, 2022
Bulldogs bag back-to-back wins for the first time since 2019! pic.twitter.com/jhkgMp4Iit
The result places the Tigers in 14th posiiton on the ladder, only above the New Zealand Warriors and Gold Coast Titans.
However, despite the significant challenges that lie ahead, Kimmorley believes his team has the attitude and camaraderie to improve.
"They've trained [well] - I'll give the boys a wrap. They train well, they turn up, and they like each other's company," he said.
"They moved on very professionally last week. Again, this week, I thought we prepared really well.
"Trying your best and having a crack can get you into the competition, but then you need to be able to add more to that and do it for better and longer than the opposition in some regards."
Captain James Tamou also shared his thoughts on how the Tigers can turn things around, asessing his team's attitude through the lens of a sports psychology theory.
According to the 33-year-old, his side need to learn how to harness the right level of emotion coming into matches.
"Obviously, pretty gutted. We trained well. You train to build confidence, and I felt that's what we did this week," Tamou said.
"There was a lot of emotion going into this game, but a lot of that emotion didn't really go into the execution of the game.
"I think [Kimmorley] sort of touched on it - you can almost do too much.
"The errors and penalty count obviously weighed against us. So all that emotion just has to go into the execution.
"There's a study called the 'inverted U' theory, where all that emotion when you're prepped up for a game means nothing. You go out of the game and you're trying to do too much.
"So I think that's where we, as leaders, have just got to take it back to how we've trained all week. Get the confidence from that and take it into a game.
"We don't need to overdo it and overstep it."
