Of the 15 Olympics medals Australia had won up to Friday afternoon, Wollongong’s Emma McKeon and Emma Tonegato, Bulli’s Nicole Beck and Berry’s Shane Rose have contributed to 33 per cent of them.

At 22, McKeon completed the set of medals with a 4x200m silver and could add to it with medley relay success on Saturday.

After Beck and Tonegato’s rugby sevens triumph, the South Coast’s attention turns back to team sport, with the Matildas, Hockeyroos and Kookaburras moving into the knockout stages.

Albion Park’s Casey Sablowski – at her third Games – and Gerringong rising star Grace Stewart take on Japan on Sunday morning, before learning their quarter-final rivals. Blake Govers’ final pool game is against lowly host country Brazil.

And Saturday’s game is likely a much needed confidence-booster after a testing start to the tournament.

Reigning Mercury sportspeople of the year Michelle Heyman and Caitlin Foord face a far more testing do-or-die elimination when the Matildas also take on Brazil, a perennial football powerhouse. The game is their penance for losing to Canada before the opening ceremony, only qualifying through one of two ‘third-placed’ positions available to them.

However, Heyman’s double against Zimbabwe and Foord’s goal against Germany shows what they’re capable of.

On individual medals – counting three gold, one silver and two bronze – the Illawarra is still 11^th on the Olympics medal tally, ahead of France, Spain and New Zealand, pending overnight results. Steeplechaser Madeline Hills and 1500m runner Ryan Gregson, as well as Wollongong Wizards triathletes Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie harbour dreams of adding to the tally.

Maybe the region should cheekily claim the overwhelming women’s triathlon favourite, the American Gwen Jorgensen, for Wollongong’s contribution as a training base.

With the Dragons out of the finals picture, Benji Marshall headed for the exit and Paul McGregor and Peter Doust under pressure, Rio will provide Illawarra NRL fans something to cheer about. Meanwhile, if Football Federation Australia chief David Gallop was unsure of Wollongong’s commitment to an A-League team, he certainly acknowledged it on Wednesday night.

While in attendance at WIN Stadium for Sydney FC’s FFA Cup victory over the Wolves, Gallop told officials the region’s football fans have voted with their feet.

Whatever the crowd figure, officially 8029 after a pre-sale of 6750 five days before the game, it was an atmosphere worthy of an A-League team.

It also translated to television, with Fox Sports’ decision to broadcast from the eastern hill – showing off a near-capacity western grandstand during play – proved a masterstroke.

As the FFA and Melbourne City show the ambition to bring Tim Cahill back to Australia, the appetite for expansion should return.

Reports out of Perth this week showed an audacious plan to create a second A-League team in Western Australia, to be based at the new stadium, completed next year. Taking the endless politics out of it, if the FFA are serious, the Illawarra region has shown with great certainty it is ready, willing and capable.