You could be forgiven for thinking the Big Bash bubble offered Shane Bond his toughest task since he took the keys to the Sydney Thunder.
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The Thunder and their cross-town rivals the Sixers have been locked out of Sydney with their run to the finals instead shifting to Canberra and Adelaide.
Bond's outfit are preparing for their final stop in Canberra when they face the Hobart Hurricanes at Manuka Oval on Monday night, which serves as the last of 10 BBL games in the capital this summer.
They face a tough run home in search of a top two finish but the Thunder are determined to brush distractions aside and keep their finals fate in their own hands.
"We spoke early on, things are going to change, you've got to be pretty fluid. If you're going to bitch and moan about it, you'd miss the bus," Bond said.
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"The boys have been awesome. Barring a couple of days over Christmas when some of the partners were locked out, which was a little bit challenging to be fair and a few of the guys were annoyed which was fair enough, no one has found it too hard. It's been good.
"We're not the only team on this boat, we're in the same boat. It's only a couple of months, you've just got to box on and get on with it. It's never felt like being a burden in here. We'll be fine.
"It was really nice coming back to Canberra from Perth, it felt like coming home to be honest. Same room. It's a bit of familiarity for us so it's been good."
The Sixers sit well clear of the second-placed Thunder on top of the table while the cellar-dwelling Melbourne Renegades are out of the reckoning in eighth.
Four points separated the second-placed Thunder and seventh-placed Hobart as of Saturday, meaning a victory combined with a Bash Boost point could prove vital for either side.
The Thunder have four games remaining with Monday night's showdown serving as their second farewell to Canberra having played the bulk of their matches in the capital this summer.
Their final three games come in Adelaide and each looms as a tough task - first come the Sixers, then back-to-back games against the Strikers on their home turf.
"Huge, obviously with the game against the Hurricanes, if we win we go two games ahead of them with three games to play," Bond said.
"There are some teams under some pressure at the back, it's pretty tight there. We know if we fall back into the pack then it's going to be pretty full on.
"We know we're good enough. There are a couple of things we need to tidy up but we're really looking forward to the game.
"It's been busy for us at the back end, we've got three of our last games in four days. It's going to come in a rush but we're fully fit and that's a good place to be.
"We're a little bit nervous about the wicket to be fair, it has been one wicket and we're playing the fourth game on it. In the Brisbane-Melbourne game the other night it started playing a few tricks and going up and down.
"We're not quite sure what we're going to get, so we're hopeful we just get a good cricket wicket. We're looking forward to the Hobart game, it's a chance for us to push hard for the No. 2 spot, if we can play a good game then it's all in our own hands."