He knows it is capable of doing so in three weeks as well.
That said, the enormity of the task facing the Dunedin City Royals is not lost on the head coach.
He guided the team, as Dunedin Technical, to Kate Sheppard Cup glory in 2018.
Five of this year’s crop played in that campaign.
They all know what it takes to win the cup, and to go to Auckland to do so.
Today is not the biggest stage just yet, but the semifinal against Northern Rovers at McFetridge Park is pretty big all the same.
They are a quality team.
But Smaill believes in the top-end talent he has to face Rovers.
"I mean the starting side is as good as what we’ve had, I believe," he said.
"We’re probably not as strong off the bench as we were in 2018. That’s probably the only difference.
"So there’s been a big workload. You’ll notice we don’t make too many subs, unless we have to. We try to get the job done with those 11, unless they’re showing too much fatigue and then we’ll make changes.
"This side’s good enough to win the Kate Sheppard Cup. If we are clinical in those moments that present themselves in front of goal, we’re going to be a handful for any team."
Certainly there is plenty of quality among that starting line-up.
It possesses the bulk of the Southern United team that won the South Central Series last year, while also containing plenty of big-game experience.
Shontelle Smith, the Maia Jackman Trophy winner from 2018, remains a key player.
She is joined by the likes of Chelsea Whittaker, who scored three goals in Southern United’s final game to clinch the title last year.
There are goal scorers in Margi Dias and Emily Morison, an exceptional creator in Toni Power, as well as a rock-solid centre back duo in Kelsey Kennard and Hannah Mackay-Wright.
Leading them is captain Rose Morton, who has shown her class at both national and international levels.
Yet that class is evident on the other side too.
The Rovers are an amalgamation of Forrest Hill-Milford United, which Tech beat in the 2018 final, and Glenfield Rovers.
Both were powerhouses of the women’s game as separate entities, having won the cup title in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Rovers have just capped an unbeaten season to win the Northern League, and boast a line-up littered with national age-group representatives.
Smaill knows that will be tough to match.
However, he backed up the idea that several of his players were perhaps overlooked for similar honours at the same age.
"It’s probably well known that’s the view we have down here.
"It’s certainly my view. Without naming players there’s definitely some players that have come through Dunedin Tech, Royals and Southern United sides that should have been given a crack at age-group national representation.
"They probably, up north, think we’ve just got a chip on our shoulders about it.
"But if they take away some unconscious bias, I think they’d probably acknowledge they’ve let a few slip through their fingers over the years."
The game begins at 2pm.
The winner will play the either Auckland United or Palmerston North Marist in the final.
