The  Illawarra Cutters will be playing for pride against Penrith at Pepper Stadium on Saturday after the Bulldogs extinguished their slim finals hopes last week.

The 32-8 loss combined with Manly's 58-16 thumping of Wentworthville leaves the Cutters four points adrift of the top eight in heading into the final round.

The Cutters' last victory came over the Panthers in round 21 and coach Scott Logan said his side are keen to finish on a good note.

"I don't think it's a really good reflection of where we're at and what our team can do sitting in that position," he said.

"If we happen to lose and the teams below us win it could look even worse so, from my point of view, I'm keen to put together a game plan and give the boys the best opportunity to finish with a win."

While injuries and inconsistent line-ups are part and parcel of NSW Cup football the Cutters have been hit harder than most this season.

"That's the nature of NSW Cup but it's difficult, having different people in each week, to build those combinations particularly in key positions. We've had so many players play in the halves and hooker and fullback and to get those combinations from one session on a Friday night is hard.

"You're banking on some individual performances to get you through and hopefully those guys fill their potential on game day.

"If that doesn't happen and you don't play as a team you will come up with some mixed results."

The Cutters weren't helped by injury crisis at first-grade level with the Dragons which compounded what was already a hefty toll in the part-time ranks.

"Obviously the players we lost are Dragons contracted players and you can't argue with that," Logan said.