Resilience has been a major part of the Macquarie Raidettes' league tag season.
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The squad at the start of the year looked nothing like the one which finished the 2018 Group 11 season, and things were made that bit more tricky when there was a coaching change just four weeks into the new campaign.
Despite all the upheaval, the new-look side managed to come together under Western Rams mentor Jess Skinner and finish inside the top five.
This weekend Macquarie meets Wellington in the elimination semi-finals and all that resilience and toughness will be needed again.
Not only does the side head into the finals on the back of three successive losses, they head to Kennard Park without a number of important figures.
Coach Skinner won't be in attendance as she's in Queensland for the weekend, while captain Serena Prout will be out of the country and representative halfback Tarlee Roberts is out injured.
"We can still definitely do it," Prout fired before jetting off on holiday on Friday.
"We have got a few out ... I really hope the girls can band together and I can play again next weekend.
"Sometimes it can be better with less players because everyone goes out there knowing they've got to do a job. But it will really be a test."
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Prout said she'll anxiously be waiting on updates from the ground on Saturday, but having seen first hand the determination within her squad she's not writing off an upset win.
The fact the league tag side is the only Macquarie representative in the Group 11 finals this season adds to the motivation heading into the sudden death fixture.
"We're very excited and we've got to fly the flag for Macquarie," Prout added.
The Raiders finished the regular season in fifth spot while the Mick Peachey-coached Cowgirls were fourth.
The Wellington side began the season slowly, failing to even score a point in its first two matches, but heads into the finals with four wins recorded from the past five games.
One of those was a 12-0 victory over the Raidettes, evening the ledger after Prout's side scored an 18-8 win in the earlier match between the two this year.
Wellington scored a strong 20-4 win over Narromine in the final round while the Raidettes suffered a 12-8 loss to a Nyngan side which failed to make finals.
"We've had an up and down year and we've had a couple of coaches but I've been proud of the girls' resilience and we've been finally starting to click," Prout said.
"We were unlucky last week but I think we're ready for a couple more weeks yet.
"The resilience of the girls has been great and we've stuck together. Getting through to the finals has been good in itself."
With a number of key players missing for the sudden death fixture, Prout said the side's new-look halves combination will have to lead from the front on Saturday.
Lily Spackman and Madison McGuinness are likely to take those key positions against Wellington, and Prout has called on them to "boss" their teammates around.
The Raidettes and Cowgirls do battle from 11am in Saturday's elimination semi-final.
The qualifying semi-final between the Parkes Spacecats and Forbes Magpies is at 11am on Sunday.