Western Force captain Jeremy Williams is confident the club will build on this Swyftx Super Rugby Pacific campaign and can look forward with optimism to next season.
Their 31-25 come-from-behind last round victory over the Waratahs at HBF Park on Saturday night was the fifth win in six games, jumping them over the visitors into seventh, as they finished with a seven win-seven loss record, their best in 12 years.
Williams said it was crucial to keep pushing the benchmark to make a maiden finals series.
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"It's about not slipping back," the Wallabies second-rower said.
"Where we finished this year is the standard and we've got to keep lifting that every year.
"It's about making sure we keep building. We've developed as a team.
"Now it's moving onto next year and making sure we kick the year off really well."
Williams said one word described the reason for the late season surge: "connected."
"We've got the people, the coaching staff, from the top to the bottom, the whole organisation," he said.
"The belief has been there the whole year, the work's been there the whole year, trust in each other, trust in the way we play.
"Each game we believe we can win it. Some games we haven't performed at our best but towards the back end we've really come together, performed well."
Williams said it was critical to keep the nucleus of the squad together.
"We've got a lot of guys that are staying around next year so it's about building that cohesion," he said.
"We've quite a lot of boys that have been at the club for a few years that are continuing to stay here and that's the key - to keep the nucleus the same."
Coach Simon Cron said recent successes and finishing with seven-wins, seven losses was significant.
"We've just got to keep pushing to be great. We just keep building and working," Cron said.
"It's not one thing. All your small habits build up to create wins. These guys have created some really good habits.
"What we've got to keep doing is building the jigsaw and making sure the small habits become really indented in the group.
"When you see them winning from behind you'll see the growth in them.
"Very proud of them. What they've achieved and how hard they've worked for it, their mental focus around being able to handle big moments."
Cron said it "burns" that only four bonus points separated them from the sixth place Brumbies who also finished on seven wins.
"You know what. We've got to keep learning from those moments," he said.
Cron expects Wiliams to add to his 25 Wallaby appearances this year.
"He just gets better and better, every time he plays, every time he puts on the jersey," he said.
"His leadership over the last three years has gone from power to power. He's a credit to the team, the club and WA."
Cron suggested that among those staying next year would be Wallabies veteran Kurtley Beale who he said had brought spark from the bench for the "championship minutes" at the back end of games.
"He'll be staying. I strongly suggest he'll be staying," Cron said.
"He's part of the DNA now but it's got to work for him and his family too. I'd say he will be involved with us."
The Force scored five tries to the Waratahs three in difficult conditions on Saturday night.
Winger Dylan Pietsch grabbed a first-half double and after the break prop Misinale Epenisa added a five-pointer before flanker Carlo Tizzano overtook foundation member Cameron Shepherd's long-standing 30-try Force record with a double.
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