Western Force lock Jeremy Thrush expects NSW to come out swinging this Friday night, but he hopes the seed of doubt will spread among Waratahs players during the match.
The Waratahs appear set for a season of doom and gloom after copping a record 61-10 hammering at the hands of the Brumbies last Saturday, just a week after losing 41-7 to the Queensland Reds.
Making matters worse is the fact that captain Jake Gordon will miss at least another month of action due to a serious ankle injury.
The Force will be aiming to notch their first win of the season when they take on the Waratahs in Sydney this Friday.
Thrush said his team would be on guard for a fierce Waratahs backlash, but he also sees an area of vulnerability that could be exposed.
"I've been in the shoes of the Waratahs before," Thrush said.
"If you have a few losses, you are doing everything to right those wrongs and put in a good performance. They're going to come out swinging. We've got to combat that.
"If we can just keep applying pressure, it doesn't matter how much you try sometimes, that doubt can creep back in.
"So if we can keep applying pressure, hopefully we can get on top of them and get our game going."
The Force are on a mission of redemption themselves after following up last year's winless campaign with a 27-11 loss to the Brumbies in this year's season opener.
Thrush and his teammates were left to stew on that result during last week's bye, and they're ready to right the wrongs this Friday night.
"When the boys got off the field, there was frustration in the way we didn't fire as many shots as we wanted to," Thrush said.
"And then having to sit and watch all week, and not be able to go again and fix the wrongs … having to wait two weeks to have that crack again has been frustrating.
"Hopefully we can use that energy against the Waratahs and get the win."
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