KEY POINTS:
It's not quite now or never, but just three games into the competition the Chiefs are nearing crunch time in their Super 14 campaign.
With their away form consisting of ugly losses to the Blues and Hurricanes, the Chiefs will need to take full advantage of the comforts of home over the next four weeks if they want to stay in the Super 14 title hunt.
The draw has been kind - very, very kind. The teams the Waikato-based franchise hosts over the next four rounds have a combined record of 1-11.
Only the Bulls, who take on the Chiefs in Rotorua after visits to Hamilton by the Cheetahs (tomorrow night) and Stormers (next Friday night) have managed a win this season.
After a steady diet of plodding South African opponents, the Chiefs then face the hapless Highlanders, who have already managed to turn losing from a habit into an art form.
Ian Foster's men aren't admitting as much, but anything short of four wins in a row would be a major letdown for the Chiefs, and could well prove terminal to their playoff aspirations.
"We are not panicking yet, it is only round four," said stand-in captain Mills Muliaina.
"We have just got to go out there and nail the things we didn't get right against the Hurricanes [last Friday night]. Once we do that I think you'll start seeing a different Chiefs side altogether."
Muliaina conceded his side's draw looked good on paper but said they weren't looking beyond tomorrow night's game against the Cheetahs. They had, however, done a lot of looking at themselves.
"We are pretty upbeat. Monday and Tuesday we were pretty disappointed. The heads were down, just for the fact that we played so poorly. We are turning over a lot of ball and making mistakes that we shouldn't be making.
"[Tomorrow] is a massive game. We have got to produce a result. We are not too far away from where we want to be, it's just that we are making silly little errors and are just a little bit behind the eight ball at the breakdown."
With his captaincy experience limited to a couple of games as a stand-in fourth form, Muliaina was pleasantly surprised to be handed the role in the absence of the injured Jono Gibbes.
"It's nice to think that my peers think of me in that way. I'm really excited about it, so fingers crossed I can do a good job.
"It's a new thing for me but there are a lot of guys in our team who are leaders so all I'm really doing is taking the boys out on the field. Nothing is going to change for me, I'm just going to go out there and play my natural game and first and foremost perform."
Muliaina will be back in his regular fullback slot tomorrow as Foster continues to search for a steady midfield combination while linchpin Richard Kahui is sidelined with an ankle problem. Callum Bruce has been reinstated at second five-eighths where he will partner Dwayne Sweeney.
There was some good news on the injury front for the Chiefs. Halfback Brendon Leonard is back in the side, having recovered from a bruised thigh, but that will have been tempered by the loss of back-up lock Kristian Ormsby for the remainder of the campaign with a shoulder injury.
Foster has also made changes to his forward pack, bringing in flankers Tom Harding and Faifili Lavave, prop Ben May and lock Toby Lynn.
