A win on Saturday will boost their chances.

And both teams, who sit sixth and seventh respectively, have a different approach to try and take the points.

Coach Ben Price has put the young Cats through a mini term of football schooling.

“Each game the last month has been a challenge for us as we have played teams higher on the ladder,” he said.

“So we have implemented roles for players and made it more about learning and learning from opposition players.

“Now we play a side on a level pegging and it’s about applying that education gained and putting it into practice.”

At Merrivale, coach Jason Rowan hopes “mixing things up” will continue to pay off.

“We’ve done PT (personal training) sessions and gone to the pool just to get off the oval and changed the warm up,” he said. 

“Training on the track every Tuesday and Thursday can get repetitive.

“We just thought it would help put the fun and enjoyment back into it. And already there’s a different feeling, a good feeling.

And it’s not only during the week that the Tigers have changed things. There’s been changes on game day as well.

“It’s not a great change, but instead going outside for our warm up we have been staying in the rooms,” Rowan said.

“It might not seem much, but it keeps us more close-knit and the players all get around each other more.”