The opener has been in red-hot form this season - posting four half-centuries - and shapes as the key man when the two sides meet in a Cricket Illawarra one-day clash at North Dalton Park.

"Mitchy is averaging 80-odd and has had a fantastic start to the year, so he is a key wicket," Loveday said.

"But they've got some good players right across the board and they bat pretty much all the way through. We'll look to turn up and hit the top of off as many times as we can, and hope it works out. Getting McRae out early will be the key for us, too.

"If we bat first [on Saturday], we will look to get runs on the board and then back our bowling to squeeze them. If we bowl first, we need keep it tight and back our batting to chase the runs."

While wary of Helensburgh, Loveday has been delighted with his own team's form in 2020/21. Wollongong sits on top of the ladder with six wins, and head into Saturday's game on the back of a five-wicket win over Dapto.

So what has been crucial to the Lighthouse Keepers' success? The captain thinks it's a combination of good depth and hard work.

"With the amount of changes we seem to be having every week, it's hard to know where you're fully at. [But] our training has been really good, we've had good numbers at training consistently which has probably been the biggest improvement for our club, not just our team," Loveday said.

"I think Dapto were a bit short last weekend as well ... but we're really happy with where we're going. If guys are out, players are coming in, stepping up and doing a job which is obviously pleasing from a club aspect."

Nine rounds remain in the regular season, with the semi-finals scheduled for mid-March.

The Lighthouse Keepers are presently on a three-game winning streak, having not lost since early December. David Studholme and Matthew Grealy have led the way with the bat, while Andrew McRae and Will Whitehouse have taken 13 wickets apiece this season.

At this stage of their campaign, Loveday said it was important for Wollongong to keep banking wins.

"I think the bowling has been the key for us at the moment. When we get little totals, we seem to be chasing well and quite quickly to grab a few bonus points, and that's why the ladder is how it is. And I know Northern Districts have missed a couple of games because of the heat and a few things,"he said.

"But it's a different ball game once you get to finals. Our goal is to get there and worry about the result later. It's important that we're getting into positions to get a bonus point because there's now a gap between Uni, us, Northern Districts and Balgownie. It's good to try to kick away, with us being in the leading group.

"I don't think there's a big difference between the top-three and bottom-three teams, but it's important to take the opportunities when you get them and grab the wins when you can."