And captain Craig Bramble is confident his side can pull off the upset.

“We’re defending our crown,” Bramble said. “But our task this year is going to be much greater than last year. Lake are the team to beat, they have a very good bowling attack and their batting lineup doesn't seem to end.”

“We’re pretty confident batting against them, This time we expect to bowl a bit better, if we can do that, we’re a good chance to cause the upset.”

Lake Illawarra recorded a comfortable six-wicket victory over Kookas when the two teams played in December, but Lakers captain Mark Ulcigrai is expecting a closely-fought match.

“They’ve got a strong side,” Ulcigrai said. “We’re evenly matched up if they’ve got their full strength side, which I expect they will. I think its going to go down to the wire.

The Lakers charge has been led by brothers Brendan and Kerrod White. Brendan scored an unbeaten 79 when the two teams clashed in December and Bramble knows it will be a tough ask to restrict the pair.

“They can play all around the field,” Bramble said. “It’s not like you can really go in there and bowl to a plan other than try and reduce the impact they have. The key is to bowl a little bit fuller than short, but they can damage you both ways really. We just need to try and limit their scoring shots. It’s probably the toughest task in South Coast Cricket.”