Collegians were barely tested in running out 58-0 winners over the Canaries at Dapto Showground, while Thirroul managed a 22-0 shutout of Corrimal.

It brings together the first of what's tipped to be a series of thrillers, starting with this weekend's meeting at Gibson Park. Dogs coach Nathan Fien admitted it was one his side have been eyeing since the schedule dropped.

"I know all our boys will be excited for the week ahead and probably circled this one a few weeks ago," Fien said.

"Playing out there is always a hard place to get the two points. It's a good environment to play in, a hostile environment, and our guys will just have to get up for a big game against a really big pack.

"They're going to be led up front, I haven't seen a lot of their footy this year but both sides will be up for it. They're undefeated as well so it's a top of the table game."

Most discussion around the Butchers early in the season has centred on their stacked forward pack, but the Collies front six asserted some dominance of their own against the Canaries.

Back-rowers Liam Cassidy and Tom Angel grabbed tries and were outstanding on their edges, Angel bagging a double.

Middle men Blake Phillips, Jarrod Thompson and Josh Dowel all got across from close range and look primed for the step up this weekend.

"Cass and Tommy are pretty damaging and a pretty important part of our team and what we're about on the edges there," Fien said.

"We need them to put their edges under some pressure and, one thing's for sure, they take some tackling if we get our shape on the inside right.

"It's going to be a different beast, we're not going to have the same flow we had through the middle of the field that we did today.

"We know that and we're going to need to be a lot better, it's been a pretty scrappy couple of weeks from us and we haven't had that real genuine test."

Wade Stanford is likely return after the missing Saturday's victory, while Jack Cross is tipped to return after also sitting out with a knee injury.

The Butchers will be forced into a reshuffle, with Tim Grant and Blake Higgins unlikely for the Butchers.

A 58-0 cruise isn't the ideal preparation, but Fien was happy to see his side keep the foot on the gas for the duration.

"It was good, we had a few guys stepping in on debuts there and I thought out senior guys really led the way from the start," he said.

"Our kicking game was consistent all the way through and we just kept turning them around which helped us out a lot.

"I was happy with the way we stayed in the grind and on task because it's a much tougher assignment next week against Thirroul.

"Some of young guys on the bench got some really good minutes today and they're going to need to be at their absolute best next week."