"The will not to give up has been there for the last few weeks.
"Everyone's a little more fitter and more settled than what it was in the first six weeks of the season."
And it's the veteran players being settled that means more than whichever position they end up playing on the field.
Evans is not unduly concerned that representative hooker Roman Tutauha is still required to cover second-five with Sid Henare out injured, while he himself has been everywhere from lock to fullback.
With first-five Craig Clare and centre Troy Brown recovered from their injuries, there is enough backline support for Ruapehu to play their normal phase-orientated style, with the loose forward trio of Hughes, Peter Rowe and Campbell Hart shouldering the workload while the front row with Karl Parker and Kim McNaught will always try to impose themselves.
"It's not a full squad but a reasonably handy squad," said Evans.
"Roman's already made the comment he feels unemployed out there.
"I'll have to see at training tonight [who plays where]. Nothing's for guaranteed - that all changes.
"Our backs have been against the wall and it's no different on Saturday or next week."
Kaierau coach Denis Edwards needed to spend Thursday night training calling upon all the mental mileage his team gained from their thrilling 36-33 win over Ruapehu in Ohakune on May 7.
"Both of us have to win, I think the emphasis is on us to produce a result," he said.
"It's old heads against young heads, we have to work with what we've got.
"[Ruapehu] know how to stretch the rules of the game. Our guys don't have that.
"They'll play a forward orientated game. Even if Roman is at second five, he's such a good player. He will find holes."
With first-five Dion Hyland out injured, Edwards was going to have an honest chat with the team's guiding light Ace Malo, who had the cast removed from his broken arm on Monday.
Although protecting Malo for upcoming representative duties would be understandable, he is undeniably needed to help a backline in their early 20's who have the pace advantage but not Ruapehu's guile.
"Ace is a vital cog to our team if playing or not," Edwards.
Either way, it falls to Kaierau's promising frontrowers like Joe Edwards and regular tryscorer Jack Yarrall to literally get mean, because Parker and his cohorts will have no qualms about being as rugged as necessary to secure five precious competition points.
"Jack's a good straight line player. We're able to get the ball to him out wide and running straight, he's hard to stop," said Denis Edwards.
"Jack and Joe, they'd be the youngest front row the competition has got.
"If we just hold our own, we'll be happy."
Kaierau will also be praying for good weather as a wet day will tilt a 50-50 chance over into Ruapehu's court.
In the other games, PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape will want to pick up the pieces of last weekend's embarrassment by Waverley Harvesting Border when they host Harvey Round Motors Ratana at Memorial Park.
It will be a double-header at the Taihape ground as Utiku Old Boys face Pirates, while the other game with Top 4 implications is Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist meeting the red-hot Border at Spriggens Park.
