By co-captain Mark Grieve-Dunn’s reckoning, teams will need about 47 points to get into the playoffs.
The Sharks are on course to well exceed that. They have 37 points with a record of seven wins, one draw and a loss.
A semifinal appearance looks well within grasp but Grieve-Dunn feels the competition is a lot tighter this season.
Those games against the bottom two or three sides are much tougher than in the past. And while Dunedin is well-placed, the lock suggested it has not been easy.
"We got quite a few good results earlier on and teams were probably thinking we were up at some high level," he said.
"But we probably weren’t real happy with how we played. But we’ve got a lot of young boys that are getting better every week and they are starting to put their hand up."
Speedy winger Mone Samate-Palu has made a positive impression since joining the club from Auckland.
"He is very, very quick and if you give him a bit of space he can do some real damage."
Fellow Zac Harrison-Jones is another who has been impressive when he has been fit and available. But centre Leroy van Dam has been the key player in the backline.
The pick-and-go game, at which Dunedin has been so adept over the years, has been tweaked a little in order to get the ball to its threatening backs more often.
Dunedin may well revert back to type against Zingari-Richmond at Kettle Park tomorrow.
The first-round match between the teams was a tense encounter, in which Dunedin prevailed 25-21.
"They actually had the best go at us in the whole first round, to be fair.
"We lost the last game of the round to Southern but we felt Zingari put us under pressure and they didn’t roll over or anything like that.
"They are a team that has not got the chocolates every Saturday but are not giving teams five points and an easy week.
"We have to show up and be accurate and we’ll have to get physical with them because, if they get a sniff, they don’t fold up."
Dunedin can expect a big challenge in the lineout. Zingari pair Tom Rowe and Eli Tonga are one of the better lineout combinations in the competition.
"Tom Rowe is a smart lineout forward and Eli Tonga is a genuine athlete. But we’ll just have to manipulate them and make sure we move away from their zones.
"We will try and apply a bit of pressure there as well when it is their ball. But Rowe is pretty sharp at lineout time, so it will be a good challenge for us."