THE Sea Eagles forwards have held a truth session and vowed to respond with action in the wake of last Friday's 23-4 mauling by the Rabbitohs.
The consensus was that Souths won the forwa
rd battle and that stung the Manly players who take great pride in their performances each week.
"It was a very physical game and they were probably on their game more than us and brought that intensity they are known for," Ballin said.
"You have to take actions on the field this weekend.
"We know that they were stronger than us in that category, they were making metres too easy and brushing our defenders out of the way."
In the wake of that defeat Ballin said the forwards got together ahead of Sunday's game with the Titans on the Gold Coast and had spoken about what they did well and what they could do better.
"We have to be honest with ourselves if we want to improve and that was our first loss in four weeks," Ballin said.
He said the result could be a reality check for the side.
"When you are winning games you probably gloss over things you think aren't as important but when you lose them it magnifies those areas you are not playing well at," Ballin said.
He said while Manly were not surprised by how Souths played, there was a difference between preparing for it and actually stopping it.
Prop Jason King said instead of patting each other on the back this week the players were probably a bit more critical about their performance.
"I guess that's what comes from a loss," King said.
"We have identified some things that possibly if we won we wouldn't have touched on."
He said everyone in the squad was very competitive and that's why they are there.
"No one likes losing, no one likes getting dusted up by the other forward pack," he said.
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Jon Geddes
Manly Daily
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