That's the portion of his squad that have the goal of progressing to the A-League.

It's an ambition the mentor embraces, Wilkshire determined to do everything he can to turn the Wolves players into professional footballers.

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With the A-League in their sights, Sunday's clash with the Northbridge Bulls takes on even greater importance.

The match will form part of a WIN Stadium double-header, Wollongong to take on the Macarthur feeder club before the Wellington Phoenix face the Bulls' top squad.

It's an opportunity not lost on the players.

"Everyone's buzzing and eager to get back out on WIN Stadium," current skipper Lachlan Scott said. "We played Manly there a month ago and the feel of it was great.

"It's a great atmosphere and a great chance to get a bit of exposure as well, play in front of people we normally wouldn't. There's a lot of good players in this league that can play in the A-League and standing out is the first step to getting there."

Scott is one player who has featured in the A-League, the striker spending three seasons with the Western Sydney Wanderers before he joined the Wolves in 2019.

The 23-year-old is determined to return to the top-flight, and the best way to achieve that goal, he feels, is through team success.

"I want to play well every week, all the boys do, to prove we can make that next step. In this league, you do get noticed if you're playing good football. The main thing for us is to go out and get a win and work our way up the table.

"If you're the team that's on top, you clearly have the best players. As a collective group, if we put in good performances week in, week out, people will notice."

It's a message Wilkshire has repeatedly reinforced throughout his three years in charge. Wins come first, everything else follows from that.

"Every week our aspiration, our goal is to improve," Wilkshire said. "We want to show people the quality of the squad, both on and off the field. We're looking to grow and improve and move forward, I wouldn't be here if it was any other way.

"We do our talking on the pitch, the guys getting out on the pitch, working and improving. What we do every time we come out on the field is at full gas and to improve. People can talk all they want about ambitions but the proof is in the pudding. It's on the pitch that counts."

The Wolves enter Sunday's match fresh, last week's clash with Sydney Olympic postponed due to the weather.

The Bulls also saw their game rescheduled, Northbridge playing out a tense 3-3 draw with Marconi on Wednesday night.

Coming off a dominant win over Mt Druitt, Wilkshire said his side will be looking to make a statement early.

"It was frustrating not to play last week, but it freshened the boys up. They're hungry and motivated to go again and build on their first victory of the season."