Coach Carl Veart believes Adelaide United have the quality required to kick on from consecutive A-League Men finals heartbreaks and end their seven-year title drought.
The Reds lost to Melbourne City in last year's two-legged semi-final and were knocked out by Sydney FC at the same stage in 2020-21.
But after beating leaders Melbourne City 4-2 last week, Adelaide are unbeaten in eight and sit third behind Western Sydney only on goal difference.
It's the type of form that has them eyeing a tilt at their first title since the 2015-16 double.
"We want to finish in that top four, hopefully in the top two, and it's important that we pick these points up," Veart said ahead of Saturday's clash with Newcastle.
"In the form that we showed on Friday night against Melbourne City, yes, we could possibly go all the way.
"But there's still seven games to go and there's still a lot of work for us to go yet. We're still not guaranteed a spot for finals and we have to do a lot of work to get there."
The 2021-22 exit, when Adelaide scored first against City but lost their deciding tie 2-1, hurt Veart's players.
"I've always had the belief in the playing group," he said.
"We've gone very close the last two seasons and hopefully this year we can go one step further.
"Last year was a real kick in the guts for the way we went out and that has spurred, I suppose, the players on this season.
"When they came back in for pre-season at the start of this year, that has been a bit of a driver this year, to go all the way."
The Reds' impressive run has come despite a mounting injury toll and Veart urged his charges to maintain the rage against a desperate Newcastle on Saturday.
The Jets sit seventh, three points and goal difference outside the top six, with every game realistically crucial to their finals hopes.
"They play some good football and they're a little bit inconsistent at the moment, but their season's getting close to being on the line for them," Veart said.
"So they're going to come at us with everything they've got because if they lose this week it could put them out of the six (by) a fair way.
"For us it's important that we recognise that and be aware that the start of the game could be quite a high-paced game."
