That’s the message Wodonga Wolves coach Troy Crawford is drumming into his charges ahead of the Country Basketball League semi-final against Shepparton Gators on Saturday.

The grand final will be held in Wodonga win or lose, and Crawford won’t be left watching and hosting the grand final like they were last year.

“It’s time for us to go the next step,” Crawford said.

“We fell at this hurdle last year, we’ve got a home grand final if we win this game, so I am desperate to get to that little bit further.

“I’ve been telling the team that they’ll have the juniors watching, I want the kids to see this team play, see exactly how for they can take their game if they want to.”

The Wolves have battled through some adversity to get to the semis, losing Trent McMullan for several weeks with an ankle injury, while Ben Coates was ruled out for the season with a hip.

McMullan was strong in his return against Wang-aratta a fortnight ago, top scoring in the Wolves’ nine-point win.

Now that the side was back to full strength, Crawford is expecting nothing but absolute intensity.

“We did really well to cover for players that missed through injury late in the season, but finals are another level,” he said.

“The Gators are a very dangerous side, and we need our entire side to be switched on from the start.”

The last time to two sides met, the Gators ran out six-point winners after forcing the Wolves to chase down an early lead.

Crawford said it was a mistake they wouldn’t make twice.

“We need to match the depth of their entire team, they have a lot of quality players that we let get away the last time we played,” he said.

“We know we’re good enough to beat these guys, but it’s not going to happen unless we show the kind of intensity we’ve been training for this whole season, from start to finish.”

Crawford said he was looking to captain Jonathon Lindhe to set an early example.

“Jon’s a real barometer for the team, when he’s up against it he brings some real intensity and concentration to his play, and I’m confident he will bring that on the weekend,” he said.

“I think it’ll be a fantastic game, it’s one that will definitely go down to the wire.”