With the bye this week, Thirroul sit top of the ladder on 16 points, one ahead of Wests and Collegians, while Dapto are just two behind after their win over the Dogs.

Berkeley are just two wins adrift of top spot on 12 points after defeating Helensburgh 22-10 on Saturday. 

Collies coach, and two-time premiership-winner, Nathan Fien can't recall a tighter race for those coveted finals spots.

“The top two the last couple of years has probably been decided at this stage of the season,” Fien said.

"That's far from sorted out this year so it's pretty important to get that momentum leading into the back end of the year into the semis.

“Everyone's still fighting for that [top two] because you want to get there so you get two bites at the cherry.

“Berkeley have shown what they can do this year, they're breathing down the necks of the top four. They put us to the test a few weeks back so all sides are there or thereabouts.

“We've just got to focus on us. We took some big steps forward last week and showed what we could do. This week we weren't good enough.

“It's just about dusting ourselves off. While I don't like accepting a loss, we know we're a lot better than we were today.

“It's just about getting that consistency into our game. I know if we can do that and put it together at the right time of the year, we'll give it a real shake.