The Dubbo Kangaroos need to cut out the "stupid mistakes" and "junior football errors" if they're to be any chance of featuring in this year's Blowes Clothing Cup finals.
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That's the blunt view of coach Paul Hausia heading into Saturday's meeting with the Forbes Platypi at No. 1 Oval.
It's almost at the point of all or nothing for the Roos as they sit 12 points off a place in the finals with six rounds to go.
The injury-hit side is coming off arguably its worst performance of the season, a 51-10 hammering at the hands of Cowra, and the casualty ward has grown as young winger Logan Porch has been ruled out of this weekend's game.
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The sheer amount of injuries has made it almost impossible for the Roos to build any momentum this season but the players missing at Cowra wasn't the biggest issue.
The missed tackles and dropped ball was the problem and it was the main talking point in a meeting between players and coaches this week.
"Every club will talk about the one per centers. We've got to be consistent in what we do week in, week out," Hausia said.
"It's disappointing because I know with the calibre of players we've got we shouldn't be making those stupid mistakes. That's junior football errors we're making.
"Some of us need to have a long hard look at ourselves."
Despite the injuries and the defeat at Cowra, Hausia said the mood within the club is still positive.
The atmosphere at No. 1 Oval on Saturday is expected to be festive as the club will hold its annual Ladies' Day and while that will help things the main game shapes as another almighty test for the Roos.
Forbes is third on the ladder and scored a simply dominant 42-7 win last time the two sides met.
"We've really got to lift up our game compared to what happened last weekend," Hausia said.
"We know we've got a huge amount of players with injuries but the morale is positive and still really good. We know we need to just see the season out and hopefully next year will be better."
While that comment may make it seem like the Roos are waving the white flag ahead of the final stage of the season, that's not the case.
"We've still got a rugby to play between now and when we call it quits," Hausia added.
In a boost for the side, NSW Country representative Joe Nash will be back on Saturday after missing the Cowra match with an eye complaint while Hamish Fuller will come in on the wing.
The first grade game kicks off at 3.15pm on Saturday.
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