With games against last year's top three sides in the next three weeks, Yates says this Saturday's Anzac Challenge at Marrar is starting to look like a must-win.

"Ideally, it would be nice to win against Marrar," Yates said, adding that they've suffered heavy losses in the last two Anzac Challenge matches.

"The competition has levelled up a bit now and I don't see why we can't go there trying to win.

"There are must-win games (in a season) but we'll just play our game.

"It is a massive month of footy for us, obviously the reigning premiers from last year, then Temora (at The Rock) and North Wagga (away). They're all going to be tough games but it'll be a real test for us to see where we're at."

The Pies are coming off a loss at Coleambally where they recovered from kicking seven behinds to the Blues' five straight goals in the first quarter, to hit the front just after three-quarter-time.

However, like in round one when they managed to draw level with the Northern Jets after conceding 6.6 in the first quarter, TRYC couldn't finish it off.

"Obviously 0 (wins) and 2 (losses) is not the best start but I think we're not playing that bad a footy," Yates said.

"At the end of the day, our starts let us down for the first two weeks."

Yates said Todd Hannam, who's needed to switch back this season, Jade Curtis and Jim Carroll have been among their consistent players early, and he's generally happy with his team's effort, if not necessarily execution.

Fitness has also played against them while Yates admits that there are two sides to the coin of a tight competition, and being in a winnable position twice without success could prove costly.

"I do think that because every game is important to win. The competition is a lot closer than everyone thinks this year and if you're that five or 10 per cent off, you're going to get rolled," he said.

"The early games do sometimes come back to cost you later in the year."

TRYC expect to get Brian Cummins back from an injured ankle after he missed the game against Coleambally, however Michael Cummins is in doubt after hurting a shoulder.

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