Manny Muscat and Ben Sigmund both copped three-week bans for separate incidents involving ill-discipline, while Chris Greenacre has been under an injury cloud for the past few weeks.

"I think we've missed a few players which has upset the balance and the rhythm of the team. That's been pretty key, a few injuries and suspensions, so I think they are the key reasons why we haven't been gelling like we did at the start of the year," said Bertos.

"There's a number of players who are playing at the moment who haven't played in a while and they're just starting to find their rhythm and it's starting to come together and those things take a bit of time."

Phoenix now face a two week break before taking on the Mariners in Gosford on New Year's Eve and Bertos hopes to make the most of the mid-season lay-off to recharge the batteries ahead of a gruelling six weeks as they attempt to make a run for the finals.

"The break gives us a chance to get over any injuries and time to get the guys right and the suspensions too," he said.

"There's probably two or three players who will be coming back into the mix for the next game.

"We'll get two or three days off over the Christmas period but we'll be training for the majority of the festive season and doing all we can to make sure that by the end of the season we're in a finals position.

"It's going to be a tough game over there, they're always a tough physical team and we have to make sure we have our game plan right and do our jobs right and come away with the result we want.

"It's getting to the stage we're it's getting pretty desperate for us to get these results and we've got to start with Central Coast."

Bertos has suffered a lapse in form over the past month, lacking the spark and creativity which provided much of the impetus for Phoenix over their dream run during October and November.

"To be honest my form has been average over the past month. I started the season off pretty well but at present I'm not where I want to be," he said.

"I've been feeling pretty tired of late. It's something that I've been talking to the coaches about it and they've given me a rest here and there to make sure I'm ready come game time.

"I don't think the travel has been ideal either but I guess that's part of it too.

"I guess it's more of a physical thing and I've got the chance to take a little break now and make sure I'm recovered and recharged for the rest of the season."