In round 14 of the Picola League tomorrow, the Deni Rovers are hosting the Strathmerton Bulldogs at Memorial Park.
In senior football, the contest is a critical game for both teams.
The Rovers sit in seventh on the ladder with seven wins and four losses.
Meanwhile, Strathmerton are in 10th, just outside the top eight with five wins and six losses.
For the Rovers, a loss could mean losing touch with the top six teams and any chance of a top four finish.
For Strathmerton, a loss would mean likely missing finals, with a difficult remaining fixture including facing four current top eight teams in the final five weeks.
Following an 80 point loss to an undefeated Katandra last week, after trailing by only four at half-time, the Rovers have a point to prove.
Coach Alex Hay said his team started well but didn’t handle the Katandra adjustments well at three-quarter time.
“We knew that their game heavily rewards run and carry, so we put some time into that during the week.
“Our team defence looked set and settled, forcing them into some long and high contests, which we were able to win and move the ball from there.
“Unfortunately, as all good teams do, they made some changes at half-time and as fatigue kicked in we let our guard down with our intent to press and defend.
“There was a period in the third quarter where they scored quite heavily in a short period of time, which has been a trend in recent weeks that we are continuing to address.
“It’s probably another example of our best and worst football, which is a gap that we need to close in order to be considered a high performing team.”
Strathmerton were grand final runners-up two years ago and have been a quality side over the last few years, Hay said.
“The game is certainly important and from looking at things, it will have a fair bearing on finals positions.
“But we have been really focused on controlling our processes rather than being outcome focused.
“I’m really aware that their ladder position probably doesn’t reflect where they are at, and we will be particularly weary given the success they have had as a club over a long period of time.
“They have also had quite a difficult draw, so with the experience they have on their list, we will need to be at our best coming into the game.”
Ahead of this week's game, the team are looking to build into giving a four-quarter performance.
“This week we will keep things pretty standard,” Hay said.
“Our level of training has been good, and we're working into some consistency, but we’d love to implement that on game day.
“The lapses that we seem to have are costing us, and we really can’t afford this to be the case on the weekend.”