Canberra Raiders five-eighth Blake Austin admits there is a little bit of frustration in the Green Machine's ranks because they're starting to realise what they are capable of.
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The Raiders are doing everything they can to stay in the hunt and Austin says Canberra are confident they can tick off three wins to hold up their end of the bargain for an NRL finals berth.
Austin's return to form has coincided with that of the surging Raiders and they are now preparing for the biggest game of their season against the Penrith Panthers at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
The Panthers are locked in the battle to make the top eight with Canberra, Manly, North Queensland at St George Illawarra.
Canberra is at the back of the pack and two wins out of the eight, which has Austin lamenting a disappointing first half of the season.
"We've probably been pretty happy with our performance over the last four to five weeks," Austin said.
"We've only lost to the Storm in the last five weeks and as a whole I think we've been putting together a lot better performances.
"I guess in a way that adds to a little bit of frustration that we're starting to see what we should have been doing earlier in the season.
"But we're very confident we can win our next three and then we'll just have to hope for the best."
The Raiders need to run the table to make the finals and face just one more away trip to round out the regular season with a trip to Melbourne in round 26.
They've won four of their past five games leading into a grudge match against the Panthers that could make or break their finals dreams.
Three minutes of Matt Moylan brilliance stole a win from the Raiders in Bathurst earlier this year and Canberra are determined to ensure those fleeting moments don't come back to bite them.
"That's going to be a big one," Austin said.
"We've had some pretty big clashes against them in the last couple of years. We finished their season last year and they did what they did to us in Bathurst which really hurt us.
"We get to play them down in Canberra which will be good, and with the way we've been playing we'll be pretty confident."
But Austin says the Raiders won't be using their agonising last gasp defeat in Bathurst as motivation leading into their do or die clash with the Panthers.
"Not at all, we're a different team since then as well. We'll just be focusing on us and hoping to get a win," Austin said.
Austin played his way into State of Origin contention in 2015 and has shown glimpses of his best since he switched to the left edge.
Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer moved to the right side in a move that has revived Canberra's season on the eve of the finals series.
Austin played a starring role for the Green Machine as they accounted for New Zealand across the ditch but he still doesn't think he's playing his best football just yet.
"I've still got a long way to go I think, but there's little things I'm doing that I probably wasn't when I was at my best," Austin said.
"It's just about putting it all together now and I think I'm getting closer to doing that. My passing game is made a lot easier by moving to the left side because it's my more natural side.
"Since I've moved over there I've been pretty comfy and things are going along well. I enjoyed myself out there and it's good to put in a good performance and hopefully lead into the next three or so weeks."
NRL ROUND 24
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers at Canberra Stadium. Kick-off at 2pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
