Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens admits the club and his players have concerns over the slippery ANZ Stadium surface ahead of Sunday's clash with "sleeping giant" Parramatta.

The Tigers want at least one training session on the Olympic Park surface this week so the players can figure out which boots to wear to avoid slipping over on the well-worn grass.

Choosing the right footwear is paramount to Sheens's game plan this week as a forwards crisis will force the Tigers to take their entertaining brand of football to a new level.

Props Todd Payten (hamstring), Bryce Gibbs (knee) and Ryan O'Hara (jaw) are all out while Keith Galloway was named to play, although he suffered a bruised foot last Saturday and will be restricted in training this week.

"There has been (a concern over the surface) and it's going to be interesting," said Sheens.

"If we can't train on it we will certainly go over and have a look at it just from the point of view of our footwear and other things.

"The prediction is it will start to dry up by the end of the week and the field will dry up.

"We're going to have to work very hard in putting together a forward pack this week to match Parramatta in offence and defence.

"We have to play a brand of football that suits what I've got so we will obviously be using our hands a lot this week."

Sheens is wary of the Eels after the pre-season premiership fancies hit stride with a 30-12 win over Canberra last week and lurk just outside the top eight at the halfway point of the year.

"They're a little bit like the sleeping giant," said Sheens.

"I think they're a better side than they've shown.

"If they get a bit of a roll on it's not far from where they are to the top.

"They're a side that at the start of the season everyone was talking would make the top two or three sides and I still rate them in that category."

Hooker Robbie Farah meanwhile delivered some great news for fans by declaring his back concerns under complete control.

The key playmaker missed seven weeks with lower back pain but has strung four straight games together without missing a training session.

He will re-visit his specialist at the end of the year, but surgery remains unlikely unless his health deteriorates over the last half of the season.

"I think the time off was probably the best thing for me," he said.

"The first couple of games I was playing with a fair bit of pain and since I've had the break I've come back and got through the games pretty comfortably and with no pain at all.

"At the moment the back is fine and surgery is not in my mind, but if it does start to go downhill again that is an option I would consider."

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