Sydney Roosters' coach Trent Robinson expressed that his team showed a lack of mental resilience during their unexpected 25-24 loss to the Wests Tigers on Sunday.
This defeat not only ended their impressive eight-match winning streak, but they also slipped from first to third place in the competitive battle for the NRL's minor premiership.
Robinson voiced his disappointment in the team's inability to maintain the consistency they demonstrated over the previous two months.
"It's always hard to say what the answer is, but the reality was that's what happened," Robinson noted during his post-match press briefing.
He added, "I can sit here and say it didn't, but we weren't as mentally strong today as what we needed to be, and that was the truth."
Robinson explained, "If we were mentally strong, we would have made those choices that I was saying about coming off the short side or chasing back or finishing off that play or catching the ball."
He emphasized, "If we were on, and I'm talking about all 17 connected - the coaching box (and) the wider squad."
"If we're all connected, we make those choices, and we didn't. Wherever it came from, we didn't get that right today, so mindset and skillset suffered today."
The Roosters began strongly, with Billy Smith scoring just three minutes in, but they failed to maintain their momentum, allowing the Tigers to score three successive tries.