Speaking ahead of the club’s first-round clash, at home against Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday, Knobel said his team had focused heavily on defence over summer and was ready to make inroads into the competition’s top five.

Renowned in recent seasons as one of the league’s best attacking teams, the Pies have made a habit of coughing up handy leads and being unable to stop the opposition getting a run on.

They have suffered some huge losses, conceding 160 and 152 points against North Albury and Albury last year. Knobel said this was no longer acceptable.

“We really want to tighten things up and play one-on-one accountable footy,” Knobel, pictured, said. 

“It’s just as important as kicking goals.

“The opposition has scored pretty freely against us and we want to lock down far quicker this year.”

While the Pies are hellbent on playing finals, Knobel said Saturday’s clash against Corowa-Rutherglen wasn’t make or break.

“There’s still 17 other games left to win after that,” he said.

“Obviously we want to win this week and there is a lot of anticipation to see how everyone shapes up, but the main thing for us is to improve. 

“We need to play well for longer periods.”

In a blow for the Pies, Knobel confirmed promising utility Michael Bordignon was unlikely to taste senior action until late in the year after opting to have surgery for hip problems.

Bordignon will play reserves for a few weeks before going under the knife.

“He’s got a bit of a tear in there and it’s bothered him for a while,” Knobel said.

“In the end, he’s decided to have surgery and get it fixed.

“He can’t do more damage, so he’ll probably play three or four in the reserves before he gets it done.”

In another blow, young forward Dylan Van Berlo is likely to miss Saturday’s clash with a hamstring strain.

“We’re just worried about what we’ve got to do but you want to play everyone at their best,” Knobel said.

He said he expected injury-hampered Corowa-Rutherglen stars Bryce Campbell and Luke Gestier to play. Both have hamstring troubles.