The Hawks will travel to Yenda on Sunday to take on the Blueheelers, with a win sending them into the top five, but a loss could drop them to second last on the ladder. 

“That’s basically what we’ve worked out,” assistant coach Phil Puntoriero said. 

“If we lose, it’s probably going to be all over. 

“You don’t want to have to be relying on other teams to make the finals. 

“We need to do the hard work ourselves.”

A win will have double meaning for the Hawks. 

If they can pick up the two points against the Blueheelers it will effectively equal a four-point victory thanks to their bye round next weekend. 

Last weekend Yanco-Wamoon showed grit and determination to defeat the West Wyalong Mallee Men and that same attitude will be required on Sunday. 

The Blueheelers have been one of the big improvers of the second round of the competition.

“Their half back, who has a wealth of experience, has really been steering them around well on the field,” Puntoriero said. 

“We’ll need to shut him down.”

The Hawks main focus against the Blueheelers will be to have a strong defensive set up. 

“Defence wins games … if you don’t let them in they aren’t going to score and that means you’re not having to score as much either,” Puntoriero said. 

“We’re going to need to defend really well and that’s something we’ve been working on.”

The Hawks had a video session during Wednesday night’s training to work out what aspects of their game needed improving. 

The side will also be aiming to make fewer mistakes on Sunday. Last time the two teams met was in round five at Yanco Sportsground, with that fixture ending in a 16-all draw. 

“Everyone knows how important the game is,” Puntoriero said. 

Gerard Ah-Nau could be under an injury cloud after not training on Wednesday night. However, Puntoriero was confident he’ll be available to play. “It was more a precautionary thing so he sat out on Wednesday,” he said.