South Sydney coach Anthony Seibold has laid down the law to two of his stars as the Rabbitohs aim to recapture some form before next week's NRL finals.
The Rabbitohs are in danger of entering the finals on a four-game losing streak should they fail to take care of business against the out-of-contention Wests Tigers on Thursday night.
And Seibold has turned the screws on two of his stars, with playmaker Cody Walker and second-rower Angus Crichton warned to lift their games in time for their title push.
Crichton, in the midst of a breakout season after making his State of Origin debut for NSW this year, hailed Seibold's ability to relate to his players in a bid to exact improvement.
"I find that one of his biggest strengths is the way he builds relationships," Crichton said.
"We've had a few tough conversations but that's part of sport and part of making yourself better, sitting down and not shying away from the facts and what we do need to improve on.
"Myself and him, we've sat down multiple times and he said 'You need to fix this, work on this, for us to be better as a team'."
Crichton, who joins the Sydney Roosters next year, said trust is key between player and coach.
"Knowing you've got that personal relationship with the coach is good for yourself as a player developing and good to know he's got that trust in you and you've got that trust in him," he said.
Walker, who is second in try assists and fifth in line breaks across the league, also revealed how Seibold has addressed some areas of concern in his game.
His 19 handling errors so far this year tops the competition.
"Although I'm pretty happy with my form I think I can improve in certain areas. My error rate and penalty rate is fairly high and it's an area that I need to improve on," Walker said.
"(Seibold said) just to continue to work on those areas.
"On the weekend (against Canberra) I don't think I gave a penalty or made an error so I'm improving in that area."
