Northern Saints and coach Tamer Abdallah remained upbeat amid the gloom of his team's sluggish start to the Strathmore Community Bank Division Two campaign and a ballooning injury list.
Abdallah, who is in his third season in the top job, has prioritised promoting the enjoyment of football.
The Saints have heeded that message, recovering from a 1-5 start to set up an elimination final date with Westmeadows on Sunday as they chase their first senior flag since 2013.
Abdallah is hoping his push to create a positive environment continues to reap dividends in coming weeks.
"I've played football at other clubs, and it becomes a job," he said.
"That's one thing I didn't want it to be at the Saints. It's not a job - it's something we enjoy doing. As soon as you take that away from guys who are 22 or 25, they start leaving and they just want to go to a club where they can sit with their mates.
"But what I've loved about the Saints is when you come in, it's very hard to leave because the culture I'm trying to build, it's not a job, it's a hobby and whatever it is I'll back (them).
"You want to enjoy it and have a laugh with your mates... that's what football's about, especially local football.
"My job is to make them enjoy football and I find once you enjoy football, finals come."
Finals appeared an unlikely prospect for the Saints when they battled a string of defeats and injuries in the first half of the season.
Veteran Mohamed Taleb was the biggest loss, ruled out for the remainder of the year.
"Throughout the year, we've had a really, really bad run with injuries – extremely bad compared to last season when we had none to be honest," Abdallah said.
"From Round 1, it wasn't until about Round 9 when we started getting some healthy players back.
"The first six or seven weeks, it was really hard. Every week we were copping serious injuries – broken noses, ankles.
"We struggled with the big names (getting injured), but it's been good to see the young ones come in and step up a bit."
But entering a second consecutive finals series, the Saints are in better shape than earlier in the season and confident of making an impact despite finishing in fourth spot, two games behind the Tigers.
Only last year, Sunbury Kangaroos knocked off the Saints in a cut-throat final and ultimately came from fourth to secure a grand final berth.
While minor premier Taylors Lakes and Burnside Heights have been the pacesetters in 2024, Abdallah declared: "We can go the whole way, 100 per cent".
"I believe in my players to take the next step and go up a level," he said.
The Saints are also eyeing a spot in Division One after again extending their season beyond the home-and-away campaign.
Their 2013 premiership came in the second tier, but Divison Two has developed into a hotly contested competition, underlined by the fact that 2023 runner-up Sunbury Kangaroos finished seventh this year with six wins.
"My target is to go to Division One," Abdallah said.
"I don't put this on myself only – it's a team effort. It comes from the president down and it comes from me to the players.
"I'm a part of something special with these boys. I coach them and play with them, so I have the luxury of teaching them on the ground. It's a club effort to take them to the next level."
Abdallah said the Saints were a superior side to the one that exited finals in the opening week 12 months ago.
Recruits Musa Hussain and Oliver Klemm have been key figures in the line-up, while Riley Houston (soreness) is set to return for this weekend's elimination final.
The Saints boast the most lethal attacking duo in the competition, with Khoder Taleb (60 goals from 16 games) and Nick Bruno (57 from 14) combining for 117 majors and filling the top two spots on the goalkicking table.
At the other end of the ground, Ahmed Abdul-Wahed and Anthony Petrocco have been rock solid in defence.
"It's a much better side, but it's more matured now," Abdallah said.
"The leaders have matured even more, our captain has matured. Now they're understanding game plans and the players are having a chat about it.
"I'm very confident going in to this finals series... fingers crossed they all come to play."
Westmeadows, however, will be far from easybeats at Greenvale Recreation Reserve on Sunday.
The pair shared the honours in their two home-and-away clashes, the Saints prevailing by 24 points when they last met in Round 11.
"Westmeadows are a very hard team to play against," Abdallah said.
"They've got young kids and they can run. Again, it's a big ground. They haven't played (many) finals – they're coming down from B grade. They want to test themselves and so do we.
"They're a good side, they're well-coached, well-drilled. It will be a ripping game of footy."
Taylors Lakes and Burnside Heights will lock horns on Saturday in the qualifying final at Salesian College.
