Outgoing NSW Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie has challenged his troops to shed their tag as end-of-season flops and earn another shot at Super rugby glory in his farewell campaign.

As the Waratahs enter a torrid final month of the regular season flying high in third position, McKenzie admits his side has developed a bad habit of fading at the business end of the competition.

The Tahs play their last home game Saturday night against the second-placed Sharks before rounding out the minor premiership with back-to-back matches in South Africa against the Bulls and Stormers and a testing trip to Brisbane to tackle arch-rivals the Queensland Reds.

After losing the 2005 final to the Crusaders and the 2006 semi-final to the Hurricanes, McKenzie said the coming month offered the Waratahs a fabulous opportunity to redeem themselves.

"We've had a reputation for being different things year in, year out. Finishing the season off hasn't been one of them," McKenzie said.

"We've got a tough run home. We've got a bunch of games on the road and we've got to close that out. Otherwise people will be telling us that we can't finish.

"I'm aware that's all still ahead of us."

With just one competition point separating the Sharks and Waratahs, McKenzie conceded for the first time that the prize for Saturday night's victors would probably be a home semi-final.

"There's a prospect of us being back here," he said.

"If we don't win, then it's probably unlikely. That's the reality of it."

There is also every chance the two teams will clash again in the playoffs and, with the Sharks winless in Sydney since 2000, the Waratahs can strike a major psychological blow with another triumph Saturday.

"So it would certainly be nice to get a win," McKenzie said.

"We enjoy beating everyone in the competition, especially the teams ahead of us on the ladder. So we look forward to that challenge.

"I don't expect them to disappear off the radar (regardless of tomorrow's result), so obviously the question is whether we're good enough to get another crack at playing them or the Crusaders or something like that.

"That would be terrific."

Much has been made of the danger French international Frederic Michalak poses the Waratahs, and in particular to his five-eighth opposite Kurtley Beale, but McKenzie said the prodigiously talented Francois Steyn looms as an equally troublesome player to contend with.

Steyn, widely regarded as the finest drop-goal exponent rugby has ever seen, has been moved closer to the action to inside centre, where McKenzie predicted he could cause havoc if the Waratahs didn't pay him due attention.

"He's a genuine threat. He's won the World Cup playing at 12," McKenzie said.

"Obviously in that sense, he's the incumbent South African 12, so he's probably back to his best position.

"Obviously they'll run Steyn pretty hard at Kurtley. That's pretty obvious, so we've got to deal with that.

"But I think Kurtley's done an outstanding job this year. For some reason, he was maligned early on but, now that he is only attracting positive press, I think he's really developed and adapted and matured his game.

"So he's up for that challenge."

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