Western Force coach Simon Cron has backed the returning Bayley Kuenzle to thrive in a finals-like atmosphere as they prepare for a crucial, finals-shaping clash with the Hurricanes.

After a week off with the bye, the Force return to HBF Park on Saturday to face a Hurricanes outfit who have had an up-and-down season, but remain well in the hunt for the top six.

A win for the Hurricanes would see them jump ahead of the Force, who currently sit in sixth and with a tough two-game road trip to New Zealand to face the Chiefs and Blues awaiting the Force next week, a victory over the Hurricanes would set up their final five games nicely.

With Wallabies wing Dylan Pietsch set to miss 3-4 weeks with a quad injury, Cron said he had no qualms about throwing Kuenzle straight into the fire in his first match since July.

“BK, from the moment he got injured to now, he’s worked so hard to get himself back in a position to be selected,” he said.

“He’s fast, he’s powerful and we love having him in the team. All the coaches watched him last week play again at Premier Grade level and we were really impressed when he played for Soaks (Associates) and he got a lot of contacts, so it’ll give him confidence going into this game.”

Cron shifted Kuenzle from a 10-12 playmaker to a hard-running, abrasive outside centre-wing last season. Kuenzle promptly finished as the runner-up in the Nathan Sharpe Medal, while also netting a Wallabies call-up before suffering a serious knee injury.

“He’s really good at shutting down those outside channels, it’s a real skillset. Defensively, from 13 and wing, you’ve got a lot of space to cover and Bayley has the speed and ability to do that,” Cron said.

“We made a decision early on in the week about how important it was to get him in and give him opportunities, give him reps during training. We feel like this will expedite the process to him finishing off this block games.”

The Force were the last team in the league to have a bye after eight games straight, and they also have the final bye of the season.

Cron said the week off came at the right time and his side were raring to go against the ‘Canes, while also having embraced the pressure of the situation.

“They looked pretty refreshed. Everybody did everything they needed to do, they’ve come back in well-focused and ready to go,” he said.

“I definitely think it was the right time for us. Going into the Highlanders game, there were a few guys carrying a little bit so they’ll be better for having that break.

“Every game is (an eight-pointer). A couple weeks ago, it was the same then. Drua, it was a double game. Highlanders, same thing.

“Each week the boys get used to that, and now it’s about putting performances on the park that we can be proud of.

“The boys, they won’t accept mediocrity, they won’t accept average. The point that we’re making in our team is that we should probably have been a little bit higher, had we executed in a couple other games.”