Alex Pledger feels a bit of extra attention to detail can help get the Southland Sharks 2017 campaign back on track.
The Sharks have a nine win, six loss record to date this season and have already locked in a playoff spot with three round-robin games still to play.
However, Southland has lost their last three outings and are eager to get into the winning groove when the square-off against the Taranaki Mountain Airs in Invercargill Friday night.
Pledger, who is still not confirmed for the game because of concussion symptoms, is confident they can bounce back with a win.
"Attention to detail at the defensive end has slipped away in the last couple of weeks, especially against the Rangers.
"We were better against Canterbury but we still made some silly errors which cost us."
The competition's leading rebounder felt a game on their home court in Invercargill would provide a big boost.
"We've had a little bit of a rough patch over the last couple of weeks. Being back on our home court will be good, and hopefully, it will put us back on track."
Southland will be heavily favoured to topple Taranaki with the visitors winning just one of their previous 11 games and out of the playoffs.
But captain Aaron Bailey-Nowell has indicated they want to be that annoying team for those other teams eyeing the playoffs.
"It's quite painful to think the season's gone by and we've been unlucky with injuries," Bailey-Nowell said.
"But now it's 'can we be the spoiling team?' We have an opportunity to show people we're better than our record suggests."
Mountain Airs claimed a win over Southland in their first encounter this season before falling to a 30-point loss in their second meeting.
After Friday night's game against the Sharks Taranaki will head to Christchurch to take on the Canterbury Rams on Saturday night.
Article and image courtesy of The Southland Times / Stuff.co.nz