The Canberra Raiders are refusing to get carried away with their first half of the season, using the bye week to refocus ahead of the sprint to the finals.
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The Raiders will return to training on Tuesday with a 6-7 record and a favourable draw as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Eight of the Raiders' remaining 11 games are against teams outside the top eight.
They have two games against the North Queensland Cowboys and have a trip across the Tasman to face the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.
The rest of the schedule is against teams below the Raiders on the ladder.
Raiders hooker Josh Hodgson said it was crucial the club didn't look too far ahead and needed to become more consistent.
"We've never been too far away, but we're not going to get too carried away," Hodgson said.
"We've still got a lot of hard work to do.
"We've got the Cowboys at home next, that's going to be another tough game."
The Raiders are likely to appeal the NRL's decision to fine the club $20,000 for coach Ricky Stuart walking out of his press conference in the 24-12 loss to the Broncos.
The Raiders snapped a three-game losing streak in beating the Newcastle Knights 44-22 at Hunter Stadium last Saturday.
Those three defeats came to the Dragons, Broncos and Bulldogs, all teams who will be in the mix at the business end of the season.
The Raiders last made the finals in 2012 when they finished sixth on the ladder.
Their attack has become one of the most lethal in the competition with the halves pairing of Blake Austin and Sam Williams finding their feet behind a big forward pack.
Austin has been the buy of the season from the Wests Tigers while Williams has excelled in his first year back at the Raiders after a stint at the Dragons and in the Super League.
"They've both been playing really well," Hodgson said.
"Blake is a great player off the cuff, you don't really know what he's going to do.
"Sometimes that can go unnoticed with how much you need that combination of a bit of flair and someone like Sam, who can steer the ship around and get us to the right points on the field."
Hodgson has also been a great addition to the Raiders this year after more than 100 games for Hull KR in the Super League.
The England international said the speed and the tightness of the competition were the two biggest adjustments he has had to make to the NRL.
"It's tough and if you have an off week and you're not quite there you end up getting beaten," he said.
"You've got to turn up each week and I think we're starting to do that.
"We've been a bit unlucky with a few results, but the effort's there every week and as long as we keep working on a few little things, we shouldn't be far off."
