IT'S only four years old as a merged entity, but Illawarra-South Coast Dragons coach Wade Forrester says his side has rich history to uphold as it chases back-to-back Country Championship crowns.
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Illawarra Division were the dominant force in country footy through the open-age era, claiming eight CRL titles in the 11 years, the final trophy coming under Forrester in 2016.
A revamp saw the championships changed to an under 23's comp in 2017, with Illawarra combining with neighbouring Group Seven as the Illawarra-South Coast Dragons.
The Dragons claimed last year's title with a thumping 42-12 win over Monaro and Forrester says the region's rep sides never set their sights any lower.
"That has been talked about the last couple of years and certainly talked about again this year," Forrester said.
"You always hope the players buy into what the competition's all about because they certainly can get opportunities if they want to pursue them.
"The last couple of years we've seen the opportunities players do get, not only by winning a championship, but representing two proud divisions and the club they play for.
"The rewards you do get after winning a championship, whether it be a Country jersey and then higher honours. We've certainly got guys striving to do that."
The Dragons got their defence off on the right foot last week, thumping Riverina 46-0 in their first outing.
They'll continue their run on home soil at Collegians Sports Centre on Sunday when they take on the Western Rams.
As is inevitably the case at rep level, Forrester will be running out a different looking side to last week, with Jason Gillard and Cameron Vazzoler the major outs.
However, they will be bolstered by the inclusion of Collegians star Jack Cross and Wests young-gun Joe Dickson.
"That's the nature of the beast, it is what it is," Forrester said.
"Trying to get the flow of the side is difficult but you just re-iterate to the players that this is a wonderful opportunity. We've had a few forced changes but that's just means the next guy gets a chance to show his worth.
"For a first hit out it was pretty impressive the way we played and the way we executed last week. There's always some areas to work on but, for the first hit-out, I was very pleased with the boys.
"It's clicked into gear pretty quick. We're confident but the players still need to do their job. If these guys go in and do simple things right then we're in with a shot to win any game."
The under 23 clash headlines a huge day of footy at Collies, with the Dragons Andrew Johns Cup side kicking off the action at 10am looking to bounce back from a tight loss last week.
In the Laurie Daley Cup the Dragons will look to build on a comeback win in Wagga last week, while Adam Bezzina's women's side will also be looking to back up an impressive 34-8 victory over Riverina last start.