The Hawks are set for their longest road trip of the season when they face Dubbo on Saturday afternoon and they're confident of coming away with the victory.

Sitting second with a 4-1 record, the Hawks enter the match as favourites against the last-placed Rams. Forrester, however, is determined to ensure complacency won't be an issue.

"It's another big trip for us," Forrester said. "The five hour trip, it's a long drive, we should turn up ready to go. Dubbo are not to be underestimated despite their record, but it's a long way to go, so we'll turn up prepared."

While the Rams have struggled throughout their season and are yet to record a win, the match is very much a case of heading into the unknown for the Hawks.

Forrester concedes he knows very little about the Dubbo side, and with that in mind, he's spent the week ensuring his team focuses on ensuring they produce their best possible performance.

"For us, it's a matter of sticking to our gameplan and executing to the best of our ability. Our key focus this week is on defence, sometimes we have defensive breakdowns, so we're focusing on eliminating those."

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Saturday's match will be Illawarra's first in three weeks, with the Waratah League taking a break over Easter and last week's match against Wagga postponed.

The break came at a good time for the Hawks, with a number of players battling injuries throughout the first five weeks of the competition.

Many of those players will return this weekend, though the side will be without one key player, with Tyson Demos set to miss the clash with a knee injury.

"We've had a few injuries, so the break allowed our bodies to recover. We're missing Tyson though, he's a big loss. When he's not there, there's a bit of a hole, but I'm confident the other guys will step up and fill in."

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