The Bulls were bowled out for 38 against South Wagga last Saturday on their way to a 10-wicket loss.

But there are still plenty of positives for the fourth-placed Lake Albert, who can all but cement a finals spot with a win over the Saints at Rawlings Park.

"Yeah definitely, we earmarked this one at Christmas time as a key game going forward. It's definitely a game we need to play our best cricket in," Cooper said.

"If we win and South Wagga beat Colts we can put a two-game buffer there so it's a game we need to play our best cricket in and bounce back from the previous two games."

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Cooper said the Bulls were quick to put last week's loss to South Wagga behind them.

"We cleared the air on that game and pushed it aside. Moved on," he said.

"We know we have to be better definitely so we spoke about it and it's gone now. It's done. So we just take the week as it comes now."

Tom Doig and Rory McLeod return for Lake Albert and take the place of Louis Pulver and the unavailable Connor Bock.

The Saints are still searching for their first win of the season.

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