Oak Flats captain Scott McAndrew is preparing his side for an early South Coast Cricket test on Saturday.
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The Rats will host The Rail in a match between two teams likely to figure at the business end of the season.
McAndrew has high hopes his side is a finals contender, however with a few changes and a young bowling line-up, the skipper is still finalising their goals for the summer.
"We've got a bit of a new team this year, so last week was a promising start," McAndrew said.
"We'll get a real gauge of how we're going this week against The Rail and then with Lake after that.
"The competition is pretty good this year. We want to push for somewhere in the top four. We've got a young side, so hopefully we have the mix of youth and experience to achieve that."
Both teams enter Saturday's clash on the back of a round-one win, The Rail prevailing over Shellharbour while Oak Flats defeated Albion Park.
With four players under 18-years-old, McAndrew is prepared for some inconsistency this season. He's confident, however, the team will build throughout the summer.
"We've lost a few of our bowlers from last year, that was our strength, it's flipped on its head now. We're looking at our batting being our strength and then we can build pressure with the ball.
"The young bowlers were unreal last week. James Bryant really stepped up, so it was great to see him lead the attack."
Also on Saturday, Kiama host Kookas and Shellharbour take on Lake Illawarra. Albion Park have the bye.