BARELLAN coach Alex Lawder is confident the Two Blues can bounce back quickly to ensure they don't slip into old habits.
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The Two Blues were the story of the opening five weeks of the Farrer League, shooting to the top of the ladder on the back of an unbeaten start to the season.
The bubble burst last Saturday at the hands of Marrar, as the Two Blues were blown away early on their way to a 55-point defeat.
Barellan, who dropped to third spot, will have their metal tested when they look to rebound against Temora at Nixon Park on Saturday.
Lawder is confident the group is mature enough to not let the Marrar loss derail their season.
"Absolutely. I think we are. We were pretty blunt in our assessment and chatting at half-time, three-quarter-time and full-time," Lawder said.
"Losses like that happen, there's not much point talking about it continually, we've got to suck it up and move onto the next one. Like I said to (Shane Lenon) straight after the game, you learn more when you lose than when you're winning so it's a good opportunity for us to learn from it and respond on the weekend hopefully.
"Temora isn't just going to hand us another win so we've just got to get back to working our arses off and earning everything that comes our way."
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James McCabe will return for Barellan in a boost to the Two Blues' forward line, while the likes of Mick Lovett and Jake Whyte remain sidelined.
Lawder is well aware of what Temora bring to the table, particularly their Canberra recruits, having played in an AFL Canberra premiership at Queanbeyan alongside Justin Galloway, Tim Shea and Kieran Shea in 2014.
"Obviously they are different side to what they were last year. A new coach and I know the five Canberra guys well as well that have come in," he said.
"I'm not going to say they're the whole difference but it makes a big difference for them, having five quality senior players come in.
"They've got a few other players and that's not to say they were bad last year anyway, they finished the year strong. Especially on their home deck, which they play pretty well, it's not going to be easy day.
"Hopefully we can respond and have a good crack at them. We're excited."
Lawder said the prospect of Saturday's Temora game is a perfect example of the evenness of the Farrer League competition at the moment.
"It's the whole league at the moment. Every single game is like it and everyone you talk to says the same thing," he said.
"It's exciting in that regard and every single team has merit on their day. If you turn up and you're not on your game, or you're off that 10 per cent, you're going to walk away a loser.
"That's the greatest thing about the league this year, it's bloody awesome."
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