Force lift game for Reds
Western Force, still smarting over the thumping handed out by the Blues, are treating Saturday night's must-win clash with the Queensland Reds as a grand final.
The 40-14 defeat led to home truths and soul-searching as the Force contemplated the damage done to their maiden finals assault.
Full-back Jayden Hayward said the side was looking no further than this weekend's match at nib Stadium.
"We're treating this weekend as a grand final," Hayward said.
"We can't think too far ahead and we just have to worry about this week.
"The boys were hugely disappointed after the weekend, it wasn't very good, but we sat down and looked each other in the eyes and worked out the things that we did wrong.
"It wasn't so much hit the panic buttons, more the case of what we did wrong and how to go about fixing it."
Hayward said the team would be particularly disappointed if it failed to make the finals.
"It's in our hands, we can still achieve it," he said.
"If we win the two games we'll be in there, but we have to worry about this week and this week is a massive game for us. We only just got past the Reds last time we played them and it's going to take another huge 80 minutes."
·The Force are expected to announce the re-signing of exciting young flanker Angus Cottrell today.
