That quest starts at the Talbot Athletic Ground today, the first of eight games before the regular season ends, and Morris knows there is now no margin for error. The Black & Ambers are currently in seventh, 10 points behind the Wizards who currently occupy the final play off place.
“Realistically, we have to win all of our last eight games to make the play-offs. That is a tough ask, but it is the goal,” said Morris.
“We also have the cup semi-fjnal against Pontypridd at the Brewery Field on 25 March to look forward to, but it is very much one game at a time at the moment. We can’t get ahead of ourselves.
“We’ve done pretty well against Aberavon in the recent past and we enjoy playing against them. They have a very strong set-piece, but they also like to play a bit behind the scrum.”
Newport do have two games in hand on Aberavon and at least one on every other team ahead of them other than third placed Merthyr. That gives them the chance to make up ground, but only if they keep on winning.
“We are in a good place and we have to stay positive. We’ve been down to the bare bones because of injuries and call-ups, but that situation is going to improve shortly,” added Morris.
When Aberavon last met Newport they were riding high at the top of the Indigo Premiership after six successive bonus-point victories. That was at the end of October, when Matt O’Brien’s Black & Ambers became the first team to beat the Wizards, triumphing 30-20.
The return fixture could see Aberavon drop out of the top four and give Newport a real shot at the play-offs if they can complete the double.
“What people sometimes don’t see is just how tough this league is. We lost to Pontypridd, who are near the bottom, at home the other week and Cardiff went too Llandovery on Thursday night and got thumped.”
Ebbw Vale were squeezed out of the top four last weekend and will be looking to creep back in when they head to Swansea. They are currently two points behind Aberavon and would love for Newport to do them a favour and beat them.
Having won eight of their last 10 games, stretching back to the 22-9 home win over Swansea on 29 October, Jason Strange’s side have been one of the most consistent teams in the league. They still have to play a number of teams ahead of the in the table, so a top four finish is still very much in their own hands.
Merthyr head to much improved Carmarthen Quins hoping to keep the pressure on the two teams above them, Cardiff and Llandovery, while RGC must win at Bridgend to stand any chance of pushing for a play-off place.
