It will be a case of mind over matter for South Sydney on Saturday night when they host the Warriors at Perth's nib Stadium.
The five-day turnaround between games combined with a long trek west have put the Rabbitohs under the pump heading into the clash.
But coach Michael Maguire is confident his charges will be able to overcome the physical challenges by applying a greater mental strength.
It was the same approach the Rabbitohs adopted earlier this season after a three-game losing run had threatened to derail their premiership hopes.
"I think it's all between the ears," Maguire said.
"It really comes down to your thought pattern about coming over here to Perth. We've got two points up for grabs.
"We learnt pretty harsh lessons early in the season that every game's a tough one.
"If you go into games even slightly under-prepared mentally, you get burned. We've got some great players, but it's about how we turn up.
"We've prepared well this week and we've got no excuses."
The Warriors have won four of their past five games under new coach Andrew McFadden to rocket back into finals calculations.
The fourth-placed Rabbitohs are also in hot form after tasting victory in six of their previous eight matches.
South Sydney are among this year's premiership favourites after reaching the preliminary final in the previous two seasons.
Maguire feels the experience of twice falling short of a grand final berth will hold his squad in good stead this year.
"We've had two years of the talk and chatter about where we are and how we're going," Maguire said.
"I feel we're in a really good place as a team from all the experiences we've had.
"We've had quite a bit of turnover in the past 12 months.
"A lot of younger kids have come in, and they've brought in a lot of enthusiasm and the senior guys really enjoy them coming in.
"But we're focused on what's real - and that's the right now.
"The next two points is the only thing that's in front of us. If you don't consistently get those, you don't get to do the other stuff at the end of the year."
The Rabbitohs have played in Perth for the past six seasons, and are expected to finalise a deal that will see them host games there in 2015 and 2016.
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