Wests Tigers captain James Tamou admits his team have mental issues after they slumped to their worst ever start to a season in the joint-venture's history.
The Tigers' 40-6 hammering from Manly on Sunday was a case of one step forward, two steps back as they failed to build on last week's golden-point loss to South Sydney.
With just one win after the first seven rounds the club are sitting 14th on the ladder, above Brisbane and Canterbury only on for-and-against.
But for a period on Sunday it all looked so good.
The Tigers shot out to a 6-0 lead through Luciano Leilua, and looked to largely have the Sea Eagles attack contained.
They were denied the chance to go up 12-0 when David Nofoaluma ran behind his own player when crossing.
And from there Manly scored from their next three sets, taking an 18-6 lead in the blink of an eye.
"It definitely is a mental thing," Tamou told AAP.
"We were disallowed a try and maybe everyone's heads went down.
"Once that happens, we're not connecting and getting in our own heads. With a bit of adversity we're not sticking at it.
"You can tell the effort is there, but at times we're going in different directions. We're not all on the same page on the field.
"There is such a thing as wasted energy. Because you rush off the line and you leave everyone behind."
Most worryingly, the Tigers have made a habit of conceding points in patches, with the Sydney Roosters and North Queensland both punishing them that way this year.
They finished Sunday with 33 missed tackles as Tom Trbojevic tore them apart, while nearly all of their eight second-half errors came in good attacking ball.
It continued a frustrating pattern for the club in recent years, where they fail to back up signs of turning things around with a sound performance.
Notably, they are yet to string together three straight wins in Michael Maguire's two-and-a-bit years as head coach.
"We've just got to be able to handle the momentum better," Maguire said.
"Teams are scoring tries very quickly, you just have to accept if that does happen you need to be able to handle (it).
"They're the areas of our game which is the mental part of what goes on when you're playing footy."
