After returning from a "paid holiday" to play rugby union in Dallas, Queanbeyan Kangaroos five-eighth Jordan Macey is back and has orchestrated his team to a six-game winning streak.
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The next big test for the Kangaroos is facing their cross-town rivals the Blues at Freebody Oval on Saturday.
Macey missed the opening rounds of the year playing rugby for Dallas in the US, but his return has been pivotal to turning the Roos' fortunes around.
They're still a chance to snare a top-two spot and will go a long way to doing so should they beat the Blues.
While the Blues maintain top spot on the Canberra Raiders Cup ladder, they have suffered back-to-back losses after previously being undefeated.
The Kangaroos are wary of the Blues after their two losses, anticipating a desperate team keen to secure their spot on top of the ladder.
"I think they're back to full strength this week," Macey said. "So it's probably the wrong time to get them. It would be good to get a win coming into the semis. It would give us a bit of confidence and give us a good indication on how we're going."
Macey has returned from the Dallas Reds to bolster a young Kangaroos squad and admits he has had to reign in some of his more flamboyant playmaking.
"The last three or four years we've had the same squad and we could be a bit fancier," he said. "Just trying to stick to the game-plan and trying to help everybody else has been the key."
Blues coach Simon Woolford recognises this week as potentially crucial for the whole season.
"It's very important [to get a win]," Woolford said. "I saw signs of improvement last week in regards to our effort and I'm expecting to put in a lot better showing all around. It's not panic stations yet, I'm hoping we can turn it around this week."
The Blues will be boosted this week with the return of their two starting centres Tyler Stevens and Thomas Ruediger.
Ruediger suffered a concussion prior to last week's match and having the competition's leading try scorer return will help the Blues' cause.
Woolford however, was hesitant to blame the recent poor form on injuries alone. "Every team goes through stages of the year where they've got injury concerns," he said.
"They certainly didn't help but they weren't the sole reason we got a couple of scores put on us over the last couple of weeks, a lot of that was down to attitude and effort. I'm hoping the local derby is enough to get our boys back on track and brings the hunger and intent back into my team."
