Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has dismissed fears of complacency as his side sizes up a run to the NRL finals minus any top-eight contenders.

Having emerged from a gruelling four-week stretch which garnered wins over high-flyers Manly, North Queensland and St George Illawarra, Sheens said his troops couldn't afford to relax given the club's precarious state at the bottom of the top eight.

On paper, Friday night's clash against tenth-placed Penrith is their hardest game in the run home, with games against Parramatta, Gold Coast and Cronulla to follow.

"We just can't afford to falter," Sheens said of the possibility of complacency.

"They are going to be defining games from the point of view of the eight and where you finish.

"The fact we're eighth even after the last four wins shows we're no certainties.

"If we were running fourth, it might be a little different.

"There are plenty of sides behind us and we can't afford to make a mistake."

But while they might not yet be assured of playing finals football, the side's four-game winning streak has opened up the faint possibility of a top-four finish.

Fourth-placed North Queensland are just four points above them on the ladder, and have tough games against Brisbane and the Warriors to come.

The Dragons - who have lost three on the trot - are just three points ahead, and still have to go to Melbourne to take on the ladder-leading Storm.

"Four games and eight points on offer, you just don't know," Sheens said.

"Form at this stage of the year can be a little up and down because the sides in the top four are looking past these four games to the semi-finals.

"For the rest of us, we're looking at winning as many of them as we can."

Sheens admitted the loss of Chris Lawrence - who is unlikely to play again before the finals due to a hamstring tear - would be tough to overcome, with Mitch Brown coming in for the match against the Panthers.

The Tigers are spending the week in Kiama on the NSW south coast as they look to refocus ahead of the closing rounds of the regular season, skipper Robbie Farah saying the change of scenery had been timely.

"The last month has been pretty intense and especially the build-up to the last two games against Manly and the Dragons has been pretty intense. There's been a lot of talk and hype about those games," Farah said.

"I think mentally sometimes it takes it out of you as much as it does physically."

Meanwhile, Sheens said the decision to stand Benji Marshall down from a scheduled media conference ahead of his 150th appearance was done to ease some of the pressure on the star playmaker.

Marshall has been in electrifying form during the Tigers' recent good run, with Sheens happy to keep a lid on the hype.

"He'd rather keep his head down at this stage," Sheens said.

"He is a very important player and he doesn't want to get sidetracked."

Centre Blake Ayshford is considered a certain starter despite training away from the main group due to an ankle injury.

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