Then, the fifth-placed side pushed Lithgow Panthers to its limits in a brave two-goal loss and produced the upset of the season with a 5-2 win over Lithgow Zig Zag.

On Saturday, the troops in tangerine will travel to Bathurst to face Souths in a pivotal fourth-versus-fifth meeting that shapes as somewhat of an elimination game for the Wanderers.

With six points separating the two sides, the Wanderers know they need to close the gap now and coach Mark Pengilly stressed the importance of Saturday’s fixture.

“We’ve got to win every game from here on it to make the finals,” Pengilly said.

“Souths drawing with Parkes last weekend helped us so we’ve got to capitalise on that.”

The Wanderers were set to be reduced to playing the spoiler role at the end of the season, but now with three wins to their name, a finals berth is within the realms of possibility.

Pengilly has backed his side all season and thinks it can continue its run of form.

“We’ve been growing with confidence each week,” Pengilly said.

“The young guys are stepping up to play at that next level and the senior guys are starting to guide them around the pitch.

“Our structure has been getting better. That’s been the biggest thing.

“The guys are persevering, making tackles, getting the basics right and working hard when we don’t have the ball.”

“We had to change it with some absentees last week but the guys are starting to understand each other pretty well now.

“We started off a bit slowly last week though so we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to go when the whistle blows.”

The away side won’t have anything given to them this weekend and Pengilly knows Souths is a tough proposition. 

“They’ll probably be at full strength this weekend,” he said.

“We need to focus on our one-on-one battle and try to win those as much as possible.”

The clash starts at 2.30pm.