Securing the NPL double and winning the grand final at Bankwest Stadium.

The Wolves may have lost 2-0 to Sydney FC on Wednesday night, but captain Justin Pasfield said the side will take plenty of positives out of the game as they begin their preparations for next Wednesday night's major semi-final.

"We have two to go, the finals are our concentration now," Pasfield said. "We'll rest and recover the next two days then we'll get back into training on the weekend and prepare for Wednesday.

"Sydney FC are a good team, it was a good test for us. We wanted to test ourselves against the best, we've done that and the boys can hold their heads high moving forward into the finals."

Wednesday's match provided an extra challenge for the Wolves, Sydney FC clearly a step up from the opponents Wollongong have dominated throughout the NPL season.

Luke Wilkshire's men made a good account of themselves, particularly in the first half, and the Sky Blues were impressed with the way the Wolves stifled their attack.

Eventually Sydney FC broke down the Wollongong defence, with Adam Le Fondre's 65^th minute strike the turning point, but coach Steve Corica said it was not hard to see why the Wolves have had so much success this season.

"The Wolves were very good," Corica said. "I thought in the first half they were very aggressive, they stuck in and played some very good football. First halves are always a little bit tight, so I thought they were very good.

"They've had a great season, they've only lost three games all season. They were deserved winners and I hope they go on and win the grand final."

Read more: Wollongong junior heading to South Korea with Sydney FC Academy

The Wolves will now sit back and rest up this weekend, Wollongong set to host the winner of Saturday's preliminary semi-final between APIA Leichhardt and Blacktown City at WIN Stadium on Wednesday night.

While the Wolves will no doubt tune into the game on Saturday night, they hold no preferences over who secures the win.

That has been Wilkshire's mantra all season and this week will be no different, with the first-year coach focused purely on ensuring his side returns to WIN Stadium on Wednesday night ready to produce a high-quality performance.

"Next Wednesday is the important one," Wilkshire said. "We enjoyed this game, now we'll recover and then we'll start preparing for the major semi-final, which is a big game for us.

"We got 90 minutes of football one week out from a major semi-final, which I thought was important, it gives us a normal one week lead-in to the semi-final.

"The boys will learn a lot from this match, I'll learn from it. Overall it was a great experience."

While you're with us the Illawarra Mercury is offering sport readers 20% off an annual digital subscription. Sign up to stay up to date with all the local sports you love for only $3.00 a week. Terms and conditions apply.