Western Australia coach Justin Langer hasn’t given up hope of guiding his last-placed side to the Sheffield Shield final this season.

The Warriors sit 12 points adrift of ladder-leading Queensland and second-placed Victoria, but have a game in hand on the competition pacesetters.

WA have been strengthened by the return of retired Test batsman Mike Hussey for the rest of the season.

But the Warriors will be without captain Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh for this week’s Shield match against NSW in Blacktown after the pair were called up to Australia’s T20 team.

Langer helped the Perth Scorchers qualify for the BBL final last week and said an appearance in the Shield final remained the goal for WA.

“Five times six is still 30 points. We’ve got some tough games coming up, but we can still make it,” Langer said.

“And that’s a high priority. It would be a huge turnaround.”

Upping the fitness of his squad remains a key focus for Langer, who put his charges through a beep test on Monday.

“The guys know fitness is non negotiable in WA cricket from now on,” Langer said.

“So we’re going to set the standard.

“With Cricket Australia’s help, we’ll make sure we set a consistent protocol in line with what CA’s doing.

“This is where we’ve got to start building the foundations, not for just the rest of this season, but for two or three years down the track.”

In the absence of Voges, Hussey will captain the side against the Blues, who sit fourth on the Shield table with 12.5 points and equal last with WA in the one-day competition.