Ruben Wiki: Sea Eagles clash is for you, uncle

After two wins on the trot we're keen to keep the run going and I will have a special reason to pick up another win after the unexpected death of my uncle this week.

Family has always been the most important thing to me and we were very close so I will be playing for him today when we take on Manly at Ericsson.

It's been a pretty long week and after three days off to attend the funeral it was hard to go back to training on Friday. But I know I have a job to do with the Warriors and don't want to let anyone down.

Anyway, we should be celebrating after picking up two wins in a row.

It's been an amazing boost to shake off the minus four points so quickly in the season and you can just see the confidence levels rising in the boys.

We tried not to focus on the points at all, knowing that if we played well each week the points would take care of themselves. We always had belief we could catch up to the rest and it's probably made us stronger as a unit so it's just a matter of making sure it continues.

Most people wrote us off but it didn't give us any more of an incentive each week. It's not about the doubters, it's about us and we don't worry about what everyone else is thinking.

We know we didn't play all that well in the first two games but we believed in the game plan Ivan Cleary and John Ackland put together and it was just a case of getting the little things right, like holding on to the ball and completing our sets, to turn things around. And that's exactly what we did.

Everyone is contributing on the park - from Steve Price up front, who is leading by example, down to the guys coming offthe bench.

The new Aussie boys are really hungry to do well and it's making a big difference - Grant Rovelli and Micheal Luck are sharing the workload and George Gatis' service from dummy half has been pretty impressive, which has made it really exciting.

While today will be special, next weekend will also be a big one for me because it will be my 250th NRL game and also the first time I return to play the Raiders in Canberra.

It was hard to leave the club after 11 great years there and I know they will be keen to spoil my party - I wouldn't want it any other way.

It's weird, though, because it doesn't feel like I've played 250 games - I still feel like I'm 23, not 33, and didn't even realise I was so close to the mark until someone pointed it out to me.

I guess I should really be knocking on the door of 300 but my friends at the judiciary put paid to that. They never did like a good party.
 
-HERALD ON SUNDAY