Dyldam Parramatta Eels forward David Gower has talked-up an in-form Brisbane Broncos side ahead of this week's away trip to Suncorp Stadium.
“They’re a great side, especially at home where they get a big crowd up there and they’re playing some great footy too,” Gower said.
“They’re three from four and playing some really good stuff so if we can go up there and win away from home then that will build a bit more confidence.”
“We want to compete every game and beat the top sides and Brisbane are a top side at the moment,” he said.
Both sides are coming off big wins over the weekend, with Parramatta downing Penrith 32-16 whilst the Broncos defeated the Dragons 36-20.
Despite complimenting the Brisbane side, Gower believes the Eels are improving week-by-week and need to be focused if they are to have a chance at winning.
“We just want to first and foremost make sure that our backyard is in order and prepare ourselves well, move on from last week because we don’t want to get caught up on a good performance,” Gower said.
“You are only as good as your next so that’s our mindset, just concentrating on our game and what we need to do to improve as a footy side and if we do that, we’re gonna compete hard and give ourselves a chance to win.”
The key to winning for Gower lies in the defensive performance of the squad, a decisive factor in the “Battle of the West” over the weekend.
“We just wanted to show up with desire and energy and enthusiasm and we did that, but defensively I think that is what won us the game,” Gower said.
“We’ve got to go away and look at areas that we need to improve on from last week and we just want to take that same sort of defensive attitude into an away game up there in Brisbane.”
“If we defend the way we did then we have enough class in the backline to score some points,” he said.
On Friday night, Parramatta will be looking to reverse their dreadful run of form away from home in 2013, a factor that doesn’t faze Gower and the Eels squad.
“Every game is important,” he said.
“We’re not going into any game looking at another game or were not going into any game thinking that it is a guaranteed win or we can’t beat these guys.”
