No one would've thought that - not too many years later - they'd be looking to snap a streak that's starting to rival their own. Yet that is how Saturday's grand final shapes, with Corrimal gunning for a fourth straight title against their old familiar rivals at Parrish Park.

It's a match-up of the usual suspects in a season like no other, but it makes the rivalry no less compelling. For the Cougars, the desire is to hold onto something they took by force and are yet to surrender.

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It's a feeling that filters through the whole group - new and old - according to skipper Melissa Spero.

"The culture's pretty strong within our club. On and off the field it's the priority for us." Spero said.

"Our team has changed quite a bit but we still look to instil that culture in newer girls. It's always an exciting week and we're lucky enough to have a fair bit of experience within the team. It's encouraging in terms of lifting up the younger less experienced girls coming into a game like this.

"If you look at the trophy, we're always in that arm-wrestle towards the end so hopefully it's going to be a good match-up on the weekend.

"I think the big thing is, if you look at both teams, the league in the Illawarra is really important to us. Helensburgh are always a fantastic team to play against. As hard as it is it's really enjoyable because it's always a good hard game of footy."

That's other thing about the rivalry - among the fiercest in Illawarra sport - to hear either club talk off the field, and it barely sounds like a rivalry at all.

"I've only come in at the start of last year but you see straight away, there's a rivalry but a lot of respect there as well," Tigerlillies skipper Rachael Pearson says.

Of course that doesn't mean the Burgh aren't desperate to take back what, for so long, was theirs and theirs alone.

"They've taken something the last three years, we want it back, we've spoken about it from the start of the year, we're out there to win a premiership," Pearson said.

"You look at every year differently, you have a different squad or team but there is a core group of players that have been there for those losses.

"We always go out there and play hard fair footy, there's a winner and a loser. The last few years we've been the losers but hopefully that changes on Saturday.

"I think we're still the underdogs, they took it last year and the last couple of years and they've got something we want back. It's exciting, it's what you play for, these big games."

It's hard to believe a side featuring Jillaroos stars Sam Bremner and Jess Sergis and Kezie Apps would be an underdog in any game, at any level.

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Then again, the Burgh thad those big names last year [minus Bremner] and the Cougars still got it done. You don't win three straight comps on luck. Spero also laid claim to the underdog tag but, that's the thing about these two, it's only ever an even-money contest.

"We see them as footy players that we're playing against and I don't think they look at it any differently either," Spero said.

"It takes nothing away from their talent or what they can do on the field but the way they play, and the way we play against them, is just like any other player.

"We saw in last year's grand final we were able to stay with a game plan, lift when we needed to and keep them out of the game. We can't sleep on that, at any moment those girls will strike but you can't think of it as a 'big three' or anything like that.

"We definitely feel like the underdogs but the motto we're bring in is 'nothing to lose, everything to fight for'. That's how we're approaching it."