Penrith Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said his side are more than capable of winning the NRL premiership, but says they need to be prepared to make sacrifices to get there.
Having already completed a historic three-peat, the mountain men are looking to make it four premierships in a row, but injuries to key men have seen them slide down the table at an important point in the season.
They have already conceded the minor premiership to the Storm, but Cleary says his side still has what it takes, if they are willing to put the work in.
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"I totally believe we can win it," Cleary told media this week, "but we have to make a decision on whether we're prepared to pay that price to win it.
"At the moment, there would probably be a question mark around that."
Two losses in a row to the Storm and more surprisingly - the Raiders - has put the Panthers in fourth ahead of their clash with South Sydney Friday, with a spot in the top four still not certain.
Whilst Cleary admitted his claim he 'didn't care' about his side's ladder position after the Raiders defeat was in jest, he said he still believes it has been a good season to date for his side, despite the recent results.
"It's not so much about where you are now, it's what happens in two weeks time, about where you finish," he said.
"We lost by a goal to the Storm two weeks ago, and we're equal on points with second and third, so we've actually had a strong year in many different ways, but right now we're not playing as well as we need to.
"On the weekend I just didn't think we played anywhere near our best and probably were out willed by the opposition.
"I know that we've got enough of a body of work behind us this season to be able to challenge, but there's periods over the Melbourne Storm game and probably the games before that - and particularly on the weekend - where I think it's fair to question whether we are prepared to pay that price.
"There's plenty of ups and downs, there's a question that needs to be answered, but knowing our boys, I'm very hopeful that they'll answer it in a positive way."
Cleary gives injury updates on key men
Cleary also gave updates on the injuries of star Nathan Cleary and important forward Scott Sorensen.
Cleary junior picked up a shoulder injury in the tight loss to the Storm, though it was less serious than first feared.
Despite this, the Penrith coach was adamant his son would not feature again in the regular season, sticking to the return date of first week of the finals.
"He [Nathan Cleary] is going along and he's rehabbing," he said.
"He won't be back for that game [in the regular season]."
Cleary was more optimistic on the fitness of Sorensen, saying his return from a hamstring injury is nearing.
"[He's] unlikely this week, hopefully next week [he will be back]."
The Panthers face the Rabbitohs and the Titans in their final regular season matches, both at BlueBet Stadium.
