Wagga Tigers coach Troy Maiden says his side can't wait for the next two games as they tackle the competition's top two teams.
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Third-placed Tigers are away to Coolamon on Sunday, and Griffith next week.
It looks daunting from the outside but on the inside, it's an opportunity.
"We're probably going to learn where we sit right now, I suppose," Maiden said.
"I still think our best footy is still a little way ahead for us. With a lot of new guys and a young group, we're still learning.
"But these next couple of weeks, we're really excited at the challenge and to see where we sit."
Tigers enjoyed the long weekend off (having played Turvey Park on Good Friday). That's given them two weeks to mull over what went wrong in their loss to Collingullie-Glenfield Park, not that it needed much examination.
"I was pretty happy with the way we played, we just didn't finish in front of goal," Maiden said.
"We had more scoring shots, more inside 50s, we just didn't kick goals as you can tell by our score, 7.18. Our second half we kicked 2.11 which clearly isn't good enough."
Tigers will finalise their team to take on Coolamon after Friday night's training but Shaun Driscoll is set to return from GWS Giants duties.
But Maiden saw the Hoppers' win at Collingullie last week and knows they're a well balanced team.
"They're playing some good footy. Their ball movement was really good last week," he said, while pointing Coolamon's strengths go beyond the likes of Jake Barrett.
"Their top-end talent is top end but they've got a really good spread and some really good young guys in their side who probably fly under the radar a little bit," he said.
"Obviously you've got to be mindful of Jake, he's a quality player, he's just come off an AFL list but if we focus on one guy too heavily, the others will get off the chain."
Coolamon have won five of their six games and welcome back co-coach Jamie Maddox on Sunday.
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