Western Force coach Richard Graham wants his side to put their poor pre-season form behind them ahead of Friday's Super Rugby season opener against the ACT Brumbies in Canberra.
The Force were belted by the Brumbies and Reds over the pre-season, which is partly the reason the Perth-based side has been installed by favourites as the bookmakers for the wooden spoon.
But Graham insisted there were no mental scars from those drubbings, a 25-0 loss to ACT and 40-10 defeat against Queensland, and said their struggles in recent weeks wouldn't carry over to Friday's match against their Australian conference rivals.
"We've drawn a line in the sand and most important thing for us is our start to the game this Friday night," he said.
"We've trained really well this pre-season and trained well again this week. I don't think there's going to be any carryover from the last two games."
"It's hard to hide from the results. They were disappointing, both our pre-season results. But our focus of the group is on Round 1."
"Whether you start with your best side, whether you finish with your best side, the tactics you impose are always different to the way you're going to play during the season."
"Throughout the coaching staff, there's a level of expectation, a level of anticipation and a level of excitement ready for Round 1."
Former Wallabies full-back Cameron Shepherd, who was one of the Force's worst performers in the trial loss to the Reds, appears to have paid the price for his poor pre-season form though.
Shepherd was left out of the side with the initial explanation being that it was simply for form reasons and that he would play for a Force 'A's side on the weekend, but the club later said a slight leg strain would keep him out of any rugby this weekend.
"He just needs to play some more rugby ... He just needs to get some time under his belt," Graham said.
The Force will also be without regular lock Sam Wykes, although they still boast a strong forward pack with plenty of Wallabies experience from the likes of back-rowers David Pocock, Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson, former captain Nathan Sharpe and props Salesi Ma'afu and Pek Cowan.
They'll face a hefty Brumbies pack, but Graham was confident that wouldn't be a problem.
"That probably creates some opportunities for us, especially with Hodgson and Pocock, and we'll be hoping to exploit that this weekend," he said.
Force Team: Forwards: Pek Cowan, Nathan Charles, Salesi Ma'afu, Toby Lynn, Nathan Sharpe, Matt Hodgson, David Pocock (captain), Ben McCalman. Backs: Brett Sheehan, James Stannard, Napolioni Nalaga, Rory Sidey, Winston Stanley, Nick Cummins, Alfie Mafi. Reserves: Elvis Taione, Kieran Longbottom, Phoenix Battye, Angus Cottrell, Justin Turner, Ben Seymour, Sam Wara.