![Wagga Scorchers' Nick Fahey and Albury's Josh Roy compete for the ball. Picture by Les Smith Wagga Scorchers' Nick Fahey and Albury's Josh Roy compete for the ball. Picture by Les Smith](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/187052684/96c02654-6b43-4d6a-a0db-8e8eafd5180d.jpg/r0_83_2669_1584_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Wagga Scorchers haven't given up on their season but will focus on momentum for the 2024 competition moving forward.
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Their first year in the Canberra-based competition, they'd had high hopes of a top four finish but as that goal looks to become unreachable, they're shifting their mentality.
Coach Patrick O'Donnell said coming into the second half of the year they're still able to make a mid-ladder push if they can find better consistency in their play.
"We put a bit of pressure on everyone at the start of the year that we wanted to finish quite high, which is always the way, you want to start the season good, but maybe now we need to start building momentum into next year," O'Donnell said.
"You never know, if we can start putting some wins together, we could still make it to the middle of the pack."
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After a wake up call last weekend, O'Donnell is hoping his side can lift their game ahead of this weekend's match.
Feeling his side didn't give their opponents the respect they deserved, he said they were punished for it.
"That's what we didn't do last week, we didn't show enough respect," he said
With spirits low after the loss, O'Donnell said he expects players will be looking to redeem themselves on Saturday against United.
"Last weekend was a shock, a hard loss for us," O'Donnell said.
"For us going into this weekend we need to be trying to bring back more consistency, just playing better hockey overall across the park is the start."
O'Donnell said that second efforts and one per cent pushes are hard to get from the side when they're struggling to get the basics right first.
"I think as individuals we need to be better and that will help the team going forward, we can't base it on any one person, we all need to do the small things better," he said.
"Everyone has their individual roles that they need to focus on and that will help the team move forward."
O'Donnell said the group has been particularly quiet since the last game and will use their final training session ahead of the game to clear the air.
Wagga Scorchers play United at Jubilee Park on Saturday afternoon, before they're back on the road again.
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