The Hunter Wildfires are facing a "massive" final-round clash in Jack Scott Cup after going down 15-10 to Eastern Suburbs at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday.
The Wildfires held a 10-5 advantage at the break after fullback Danielle Buttsworth and inside centre Georgia Page both crossed for tries.
But the hosts were over-run in the second half and coach Joey de Dassel said attacking cohesion would be a focus as they prepared to play Warringah away on Friday night with an eye on finals in the Sydney women's premier rugby union competition.
"In the second half we just put too much pressure on ourselves and made too many mistakes," de Dassel said.
"It's a game we could've won, again, but we just weren't good enough and just couldn't get ourselves out of our own end when we needed to.
"We defended really well, it's just our execution in attack. That's a reflection of the changes to personnel we've had in the last three weeks, a little bit of lack of cohesion and combination across the team."
The loss left Hunter in fourth place.
"We need to win against Warringah to make sure we get into the finals," de Dassel said. "It's a massive one and it's all on the line.
"It could be our last game or it could be the start of a run of wins. That's what we're hoping for."
