South Sydney forward David Kidwell acknowledges Saturday's NRL clash with the Wests Tigers will be a match-up between two desperate teams.

Tim Sheens' side have won just once in seven games and with Souths having not tasted victory since their dramatic 23-22 win over the Tigers in round 10, courtesy of Nathan Merritt's last-second field goal, Kidwell admitted another defeat would almost certainly cruel the Rabbitohs' season.

"It is probably our most important game of the year and hopefully we are more desperate for the win than they are," the New Zealand World Cup winner told AAP.

The Tigers' hopes of reaching the finals almost certainly ended last week and Kidwell admitted Souths are in danger of following them out of contention for a finals spot.

But he said their strong finish in the 25-20 defeat at Newcastle on Monday was a reminder of what they are capable of.

"We scored two excellent late tries and that showed just what we can do but we just need to play for 80 minutes which is something we have struggled with this season," Kidwell said.

"We'll take a win of any sorts now. We always have good games against the Tigers, but I know after the way the last game finished they were really hurting and will want to make amends."

The 32-year-old will miss Saturday's encounter at ANZ Stadium but makes his return to action in the NSW Cup for North Sydney this weekend in what will be his first game since fracturing his eye socket against Melbourne in Perth three weeks ago.

The injury meant he was unable to fly back to Sydney and was forced to embark on a 48-hour train journey across the country to get home.

"It was a weird injury and thankfully it didn't require surgery and I am looking forward to getting back to playing this weekend and should hopefully be back in contention for first grade next week," he said.

"And as for the train journey, I have one word of advice for anyone thinking about doing it - don't."

The Tigers' dismal display in the 21-10 defeat by St George Illawarra last Friday means only a miracle will see the 2005 premiers make the top eight but second-rower Chris Heighington said the players are refusing to throw in the towel.

"The boys are high spirited, hanging in there and if we get a win against Souths we're back in the mix. It's just not falling into place at the moment," Heighington said.

"That's probably our fault that sort of stuff's happening. We could hold the ball and do a bit better in the completion of our sets. We'll change our game plan a bit more this week and go a bit more structured and hopefully get a win."

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