STEP it up and switch on or take it easy and likely face elimination - those are the two choices which CSU coach Dom Huggett is posing his players on the eve of the Ferguson Cup finals.
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Having finished the regular season in fifth place, CSU will face an elimination final against Mudgee on Saturday at Molong.
Back-to-back heavy defeats to Narromine (61-12) then Forbes (68-12) in the past fortnight has CSU facing sudden death.
The students have never lost to Mudgee and will be boosted by the return of Laura Belfanti, Bridie Gordon, Rachel Brown and Gaby Dowling.
Maddy Thompson, who also got through just five minutes in Forbes, will see more game time on Saturday too.
But Huggett knows his players still have a decision to make.
"We kind of have to come to a decision whether we go into this as competitive as possible and use our 10 best players effectively, or we acknowledge where we are at and play everyone and take the pressure off winning," the coach said.
"It's really up to the girls what they decide, I'm incredibly proud of them, so either is okay.
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"They need to have an honest chat with each other and see where they want to go. Against Forbes we got rolled and against top eight teams so far this season we haven't had that eagerness to win.
"Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't, sometimes you can build it, sometimes you can't. The girls have to have a genuine discussion and see where they want to go."
While Huggett says the decision on how CSU approach Saturday's clash is up to them, but he knows the talent is within his squad to go deep into the finals series as was the case when finishing as runners-up in 2018.
CSU has downed Mudgee 54-17, 24-14 and 42-5 already this season and Huggett feels the games which would follow are winnable as well.
"We've got some strong players coming back and in all honesty, versing Mudgee out of all the top eight given we don't have a second chance is probably the best option for us," he said.
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"Mudgee we've had a good record against, so hopefully we can get a bit of confidence and some of our drive back. They haven't beaten us, they are always strong and will be quite competitive, but I think it could be the perfect one for us to really just get some confidence back.
"We do have the potential to go further, in all honesty if you look at our draw we probably have the best out of everyone. We've got Mudgee and we can beat them, build confidence, fix up areas that need fixing up.
"Then we'll verse the loser of Bulldogs and West Wyalong and I think that will be West Wyalong ... I think they are a doable side, I think our style of play will work well against them.
"Then we'd probably be up against Emus to get into the grand final. So it's a long road, but in saying that ... I think it could work out."
CSU will take on Mudgee from noon at Molong.