Jamie Kotz can sense the excitement in the Gungahlin Eagles camp as the club sets its sights on a giant-killing run to the John I Dent Cup finals.
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Now they are bracing for their biggest test against the ladder leading Uni-Norths Owls at RMC's Portsea Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles riding a two-game winning streak which includes last week's thrilling bonus point victory over Wests which kept them within reach of the top four.
Now a win over the Owls, who are looking to stretch their lead atop the standings after being pipped by the Canberra Royals in a tense clash last weekend, could do wonders with three rounds remaining.
Eagles flyer Kotz believes the hosts have unlocked the belief to back their attacking ability after two coast to coast efforts stole the show last weekend.
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"We felt the vibe [on Tuesday] night at training, we are starting to believe, and the combinations are starting to click," Kotz said.
"Luckily enough we are up against the best on the weekend, hopefully that gets the boys up and motivated to get the win.
"We are prepared for the battle, luckily it will be good weather, and it will be a lot of ball in hand running rugby with plenty of points up for grabs."
The Owls are poised to run into a resurgent outfit boosted by the likes of Wallabies legend Matt Giteau and another Super Rugby veteran in James Dargaville.
But Owls skipper Lachlan Creighton is steering well clear of the panic button ahead of a tense battle between two sides desperate to launch a title raid.
"It's not panic stations, we gave our chance to win, we have some sore bodies but we were pretty confident [this week] at training," Creighton said.
"The Eagles are going well, they have a great calibre of players, we just have to nullify what they do and keep doing what we've been doing the last seven rounds."
What they have done over that period is set the club on course for a breakthrough John I Dent Cup triumph - yet Creighton is wary of letting the excitement bubble out of control.
"We are very excited, the fans are excited, we can't drop too many games because there is only 10 games," Creighton said. "I think from top to fifth, there is only a couple of point separating us, the top four could be anything at the moment, we are just taking it one week at a time."
Royals will host the Queanbeyan Whites while the Tuggeranong Vikings will meet Wests at Viking Park.
JOHN I DENT CUP ROUND EIGHT
Saturday: Gungahlin Eagles v Uni-Norths Owls at Portsea Oval, 3.05pm; Canberra Royals v Queanbeyan Whites at Phillip Oval, 3.05pm; Tuggeranong Vikings v Wests Lions at Viking Park, 3.15pm.
ACT WOMEN'S PREMIER XVs
Saturday: Goulburn v Uni-Norths Owls at Simon Poidevin Rugby Park, 11.30am; Tuggeranong Viqueens v Wests Lions at Viking Park, 1.30pm; Canberra Royals have the bye.
