Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart says his side won't get caught in the pursuit of club records, declaring their focus is solely on the ultimate NRL goal as he manages workloads going into the finals series.
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The Raiders have already guaranteed a return to the play-offs for the first time in three years and will finish either second or third on the ladder depending on round 26 results this weekend.
The Raiders could rise into second and earn a home semi-final if results go their way or finish third and play either the Melbourne Storm or Cronulla Sharks on the road.
Stuart will monitor the workload of some of his key stars, conceding resting players is an option if it will benefit the Raiders' long-term goals of winning a premiership.
But the new generation Green Machine can go into uncharted territory if they beat the Wests Tigers on Sunday to become the only Raiders side in 35 years to win 10 games in a row.
Stuart has warned his players to prepare for a brutal encounter against the Tigers in the last game of the regular season at Leichhardt Oval when the home side's finals hopes go on the line.
To finish second and set up a Canberra showdown with Cronulla, the Raiders must beat the Tigers by six points or more and rely on the Storm toppling the Sharks in Melbourne.
If the Raiders and Sharks both lose, the teams will play in Sydney in the opening finals fixture. But if the Raiders lose and the Sharks win, Canberra will play the Storm in Melbourne.
"I'm not a person who's driven by stats to be quite honest," Stuart said.
"If you start looking at stats, you're taking your mind off the job. It's not a big part of my make in terms of being wrapped up in them or anything like that.
"All we can control is what we do [against the Tigers] and they're going to be hard. They're playing for pride and their last game at Leichhardt and that's a hard game.
"We can't have our mind on whatever comes in the week after, we have to be focused on what's in front of us first."
Stuart will speak with referees' boss Tony Archer this week to seek clarification on some on-field interpretations that resulted in a scrappy contest in a 44-30 win last weekend.
The Raiders were penalised seven times compared to Manly's five and teams are trying to slow Canberra's big men down by putting extra pressure on the ruck.
The Raiders have established themselves as a genuine premiership contender and the triumph against Manly was their ninth in a row, equalling the winning run of the legendary Raiders teams of 1989, 1994 and 1995.
The Raiders have twice won premierships in the seasons they've managed to go on a winning run of nine games and that's the goal for Stuart's men. But no team in Raiders' history has reached 10 wins in a row.
The Raiders haven't played in the finals since 2012 and only a handful of players have experience at the pointy end of the season, but recalled halfback Sam Williams said the squad wanted to prove itself on the "big stage".
"There's just a really good feeling around the place at the moment and all of the boys are pretty confident in what we can do if we play well," Williams said.
"But we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We haven't performed on the big stage as a team yet and I'm sure going forward that will be tested.
"But for a side that's still in a building phase, it's pretty exciting to be a part of and I just hope I can play whatever role they want me to do in the side."
NRL ROUND 26
Sunday: Wests Tigers v Canberra Raiders at Leichhardt Oval, 2pm. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 1.
