The Lions were battling for numbers and results, and were anchored to the bottom of the Westfund Ferguson Cup table.

Fast forward 12 months and captain Holly Jones and her improving group is well and truly in the mix, and is a live chance to upset the traveling Kangaroos in a round 11 contest on Saturday.

Even though the Lions have been trending in the right direction, they took a hit in round 10 when they were demolished by the ladder-leading Bulldogs.

The 55-10 loss hurt, but it's one Jones hopes her girls can use as motivation for the Dubbo game.

"We went in with a bad attitude which was disappointing," Jones said.

"They're defending premiers and we went in thinking we'd already lost the game. We're capable of a lot better than that."

The hooker is hoping to see better on Saturday and is optimistic that the work that's being put in during the week will translate to winning results.

"We're constantly improving and we're working so hard at training," she said.

"We made a few changes to the team and we're working on a structure that will suit our style of play."

Speed kills in all sports, and that's one trait the Kangaroos possess.

"They've obviously got a few good players and we need to focus on shutting them down if we're a chance of winning," she said.

In the opening round of the season Kangaroos defeated City 53-7 at Pride Park. In round six, the Lions had to travel to Dubbo and were incredibly brave in a 26-14 loss.

Kick-off is 12pm at Pride Park.

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