RUGBY UNION
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kiama are aiming to break a long-standing hoodoo when they play the Woonona Shamrocks on Saturday at Ocean Park.
After a decade of mostly losing seasons, Kiama have won their opening three games.
But coach Darryl Thomas knows as well as anyone how unforgiving the Rocks are on home turf.
"They're always hard up there. I can't remember the last time we won up there, probably 10 years ago or so," Thomas said.
"It'll be a very good test for us. We know we're in for a tough game."
Thomas is the first to admit his side haven't proven anything yet, but he's encouraged by what he's seen.
"Obviously we're a lot fitter than last year and the guys' attitude has been another big difference," he said. "Our talk's probably better, which is helping our defence.
"Patience is the biggest thing we're trying to improve. They're all pretty keen, and we just have to make sure we play with patience."
Kiama are coming off last week's win over Shoalhaven, while Shamrocks thrashed Bowral.
"We had a couple out last week and we probably didn't play as well as I would've liked, but we've trained well this week and we're pretty much at full strength," Thomas said.
"Hopefully we'll be all guns blazing."
The Wollongong Vikings are also keen to maintain their unbeaten record when they host reigning premiers Camden.
Vikings have won three from three, while the Rams have lost their past two games.
"We're ironing a few things out at the moment and this weekend will certainly be a tough test," Vikings coach Shannon Fraser said.
"At the start of the season we changed our program a little bit, so we weren't ready to hit the ground running by round one. We've used the first month of the competition as building and developing.
"We've got a couple of guys working their way back from injury, but we're probably putting out the strongest side we've fielded this year. Hopefully we can ambush Camden and get away with the result."
The Blueys did just enough to beat Bowral (12-10) and Tech Waratahs (10-9) in the past fortnight.
"It speaks volumes for the character and the attitude of the group," Fraser said.
"Not all our plays or structures are fully ingrained in our group yet, but there's a fight in the group that we're able to win ugly. It's a great foundation to have as we continue to improve as a group."
Avondale host Bowral and University meet Tech Waratahs at University Oval.