Danny Orr on InTheNews.co.uk
Danny Orr's weekly Super League blog on inthenews.co.uk
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Friday, 04, Sep 2009 12:38
To keep up to date on all the latest news from Super League, inthenews is bringing you regular weekly updates courtesy of Harlequins' star stand-off Danny Orr.
This week, Dan gives us his thoughts on the team's return from an off-week; what he thought of last week's Challenge Cup final; and just how important this weekend's game against hometown side Castleford is.
"It's been a pretty tough and physical week getting back into things - we had last week off as we had no game last weekend so all of us went away and had a bit of a break.
"It was nice to see all the lads on Monday, especially as it had been strange not seeing them for about ten days when you're used to chatting and joking around with them every day.
"The time away recharged all our batteries I think, which is important - particularly at this stage of the season. We've had a good laugh since being back though and I've really enjoyed the week.
"The first day back was fairly intense - we had a tough weights session followed by a good warm-up on the field then a few skills with the ball. It's going to get even more intense now though as we build up to the game against Castleford.
"It feels like a playoff week for all of us - I can't overstate how massive a game it is on Sunday. We've got to win, there's no two ways about it. We believe we've got the players to do it, and we've shown that at times throughout the season, but now we have to prove we can turn it on when it matters.
"It's got to that point now where form and everything else goes out the window - you just have to put your best foot forward on the day and if you do that then you've always got a chance. There's two games left for us now - Cas on Sunday then Warrington next weekend - and if we win both we're pretty confident it'll be enough to see us into the top eight.
"I went to the Challenge Cup final last weekend and that highlighted what can happen in a one-off match. If you looked at the Super League table, over the eight months of the season you'd have to say Huddersfield have been the better team but Warrington just edged it on the day and deserved the win.
"You can draw comparisons between that and our match this weekend because Castleford have got to win to guarantee their playoff spot and we're trying to do exactly the same, so it's going to be a hard-hitting game.
"Cas are coming into it off a few defeats recently, but that doesn't really tell the story. Any time I've seen my former team this season they've looked a difficult side to beat and although they lost to Wigan in their last game they put in a really good performance and finished a couple of points off getting what would have been a big win for them.
"They took a hiding from Leeds the week before that, but then I think everyone's been on the end of one of those! Either way, we'll have to put our gameplan into practice to win the game so it's very much up to us.
"Even though it's very tight for the final couple of playoff places I won't be watching any of the other games before we take the field on Sunday. The simple fact is that if we don't win it's game over for us, so the other games don't really matter.
"It's all on this game but if we win this one then we'll have to put in another week's work and go up to Warrington to get another two points. They'll be equally difficult to beat, of course, having just won the Cup - they'll be on a real high but we're focused and we know exactly what we've got to do.
"We're still in the position where if we win two out of two then our destiny is in our own hands and that's what we're all aiming for."
To read last week's blog from Danny, click here.
To read inthenews.co.uk's in-depth introductory interview with Danny Orr, click here.
Danny is an 'engage with your health' ambassador. To receive money back on dental, optical and other healthcare treatments and for more information please visit www.engagemutual.com.