SOUTH Cairns coach Cameron Campbell hopes the straight-sets finals exit of Port Douglas last year is ‘in their heads’ leading into their semi-final showdown.

The rampaging Crocs will arrive at Cazalys Stadium on Saturday keen to shake the burden of 2015, which saw them finish the regular season on top only to bow out with losses to the Cutters and Cairns Saints.

South Cairns suffered the same fate in 2014 after dominating the home-and-away rounds, and ironically it was Port Douglas who climbed from third to win the flag that year.

Campbell said recent history suggested the Crocs near flawless campaign to date wouldn’t count for much once the ball is bounced this weekend.

“We hope it’s in their heads a little bit and they’re thinking about the straight sets,” Campbell said.

“We’ve both been in this position over the last few years and I know when we went out (in 2014) it really motivated us the following year. But finals history can work in different ways.

"The home and away season is in the past now and finals are a different thing all together. We’ve finished top two and you just have to get there, as Cairns Saints have shown us all in the past.”

Campbell said unlike Port Douglas, who were forced to deal with a controversial AFL Cairns penalty to their reserves grade side this week, his team will head into the finals series with a sense of calm.

The Cutters are the only team to beat the Crocs this year, recording an impressive 17-point win in round two.

“We’re going in pretty low key and really looking forward to the opportunity of trying to get through to another grand final,” he said.

“We know we go in as a massive underdog and there aren’t many giving us a chance, but we feel really good.

“We’ve beaten them which gives us some confidence and we’ve been able to match it with them in patches this year. They are a fantastic team and deserve all the credit for their season so far, but we’ll try and match their pressure and take it up to them.”

Campbell earmarked Port Douglas midfielders Pete Bury and Jesse Mawson as keys to the Crocs engine room, while conceding star spearhead Kye Chapple was causing plenty of discussion at match committee.

“They’re a very damaging side and we’ll go in with plans,” he said.

“Both midfields are extremely strong and we both like to set up across half back, so there will be some exciting match-ups. But I’m really keen to roll the dice and let our boys try and beat them.”