The battled-hardened Canberra Raiders say they've learnt from their mistakes and can reverse a 19-year trend to charge into a preliminary final for the first time since 1997.
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But Sia Soliola, the man described as the heart of the Green Machine revival, said the players must "be in it together" to make sure they capitalise on their best season in two decades.
The Raiders haven't made a preliminary final since coach Ricky Stuart was the team's halfback in the Super League year of 1997.
If they beat the Penrith Panther at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night they will end the preliminary final drought and book a showdown with the Melbourne Storm next weekend.
But Soliola says the squad won't get carried away with "what-if" scenarios as they channel all of their energy into a must-win clash against the high-flying Panthers.
"It's pretty much business, we're desperate and we just want to win," Soliola said.
"We were the same last week and didn't get the result. This is it, it's do or die and we're just ready to knuckle down for the Panthers game.
"We have to be in it together ... we learnt some good lessons last week and everyone was buzzing around the place.
"The reality has sunk in now that we've got to win – as simple as that."
The Raiders started their finals campaign with minimal play-off experience, but their tight two-point loss against the Cronulla Sharks last weekend gave the players a taste of post-season action.
Only a handful of Raiders have been through the highs and lows of finals action in previous years and the players don't carry the scars of the past.
Stuart says every experience of the past month will make his squad even stronger next year.
But there's an underlying desire to make the most of a superb regular season and a run of 10 wins in a row that secured their highest ladder position since 1995.
The Raiders have played in 19 finals matches since their last premiership 22 years ago. They have won just six of those and only made preliminary finals in 1995 and 1997.
Skipper Jarrod Croker says it's time to turn the tables and write their own history.
Croker has been on the cusp of a preliminary final in 2010 and 2012 but has never had a chance to play for a spot in the grand final.
"I haven't thought about the past too much at all, so you can't take too much out of it," Croker said.
"For us, it's not about worrying what's coming up or what's happened before. It's more about just worrying about this week, being good and getting the job done.
"We didn't do a lot wrong [against the Sharks], it was tough and a typical semi-final game. If we can work on some things then we'll be right."
Croker made his NRL finals debut against the Panthers six years ago when the Raiders rode the wave of a late-season charge to force their way into the play-offs.
Raiders fans went ballistic when Canberra beat the Panthers by two points and a fence at the ground buckled under the weight of delirious fans after the match.
The Raiders have a rich history of finals battles against the Panthers. The clubs squared off in the 1990 and 1991 grand finals to finish with one premiership each.
Stuart played in both of those games – a four-point Raiders win in 1990 and a seven-point heartbreaker the following year.
Stuart has helped the new generation of Raiders embrace history this season, plastering the walls at Canberra Stadium with pictures of past players and inviting retired greats into the inner sanctum.
"I don't take too much out of [the 1991 grand final], but I'd like to say it was a different result," Stuart grinned.
"I am big on the history of the game. We had Rowan Brennan come in and say hello to the boys [this week], he was Raiders No.26.
"He's a great, passionate member of our club. We won't be worse [for the experience of last week], it will be good for us.
"Whether we can get a third finals game, the result will determine that, but it's nice to get another semi-final under the belt of the players. It's exciting times."
