Canberra Raiders star hooker Josh Hodgson labels the win over Cronulla as a turning point that highlighted they were a different team to the one that was run over in Bathurst.
Hodgson felt the composure they showed in that game was a confidence boost ahead of their crucial clash against Penrith at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.
The Raiders need to beat the team that stunned them in round 14 at Bathurst, when the Panthers scored two tries in the final two minutes to pinch a four-point win and what's proving to be two crucial premiership points.
Now the Green Machine sit two wins outside the eight and behind the sixth-placed Panthers, and need to win their three remaining games to play finals.
But they showed how good they can be against the Sharks, when they blew the reigning premiers away in the first half before holding them off despite losing Josh Papalii to the sin bin in the second.
Hodgson said that performance showed they were a different side to the one ambushed in Bathurst.
"I'd say so. It's something we needed to work on earlier in the year was our composure and really knowing when to have a simple set and when to throw a little bit of something at a side," he said.
"I think we've really got that balance at the minute. Probably the biggest turnaround ... was the Sharks game when we looked really composed.
"Even when we lost Papa there for 10 minute we still ended up putting six points on the board and still completing our sets really well.
"As a team you get a lot of confidence out of that and we're still trying to build momentum going into this week."
Well he hoped so anyway, with the England international joking he didn't "want to go through that again" - referring to the Bathurst meltdown.
He said defensively they'd improved since then, with last week's gritty 36-16 victory over the New Zealand Warriors evidence.
Despite the Warriors dominating possession for the opening 15 minutes of the second half, the Raiders defence was able to hold tight.
But Hodgson said it was all dependant on the Raiders' middles continuing to get on top.
Their big boppers, like Shannon Boyd and Junior Paulo, have been hard to stop in recent weeks, which has allowed Hodgson and the halves more room to move.
"It's been a good couple of weeks for us. We've started really completing well and are looking pretty composed the last few weeks which is what you need this time of year, especially this week against Penrith," Hodgson said.
"They can be a very difficult team to handle sometimes, especially when they're throwing the ball around. But defensively we've put in some great performances and we're looking to back that up this week.
"They've got quite a few strike players and most of the time it all starts in the middle.
"If we're very good in the middle it's tough for their outside backs to really do a lot of damage so we'll be looking to be good in that area."
Raiders halfback Aidan Sezer felt his own form had mirrored that of the Green Machine's.
He also said his halves partner Blake Austin had put in his best performance of the season in the win over the Warriors.
Austin and Sezer switched edges last month, and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has also moved Joe Tapine into the second row and Elliott Whitehead to lock.
Sezer felt those moves had all helped the Green Machine find form.
"We made various changes within our team and I think we've found the balance now," he said.
"It's only helped me and Austo get [the team] around the field. If we can keep building on that and keep building positive performances it's only going to help our cause."
NRL ROUND 24
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Penrith Panthers at Canberra Stadium, 2pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
Raiders want: Brisbane to beat the Dragons on Friday, Cronulla to beat the Cowboys on Saturday and Canterbury to beat Manly on Sunday.
Raiders: 1. Jack Wighton 2. Nick Cotric 3. Jarrod Croker (c) 4. Joey Leilua 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Blake Austin 7. Aidan Sezer 8. Junior Paulo 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Shannon Boyd 11. Josh Papalii 12. Joe Tapine 13. Elliott Whitehead. Interchange from: 14. Kurt Baptiste 15. Clay Priest 16. Dave Taylor 17. Luke Bateman 18. Michael Oldfield 19. Jeff Lima 20. Royce Hunt 21. Erin Clark.
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Josh Mansour 3. Tyrone Peachey 4. Waqa Blake 5. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6. Matt Moylan 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou 9. Sione Katoa 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 11. Corey Harawira-Naera 12. Isaah Yeo 13. Moses Leota. Interchange from: 14. Tyrone May 15. Bryce Cartwright 16. Tim Browne 17. James Fisher-Harris 18. Trent Merrin 19. Dean Whare 20. Viliame Kikau 21. Mitch Rein.
