Sydney FC captain Alex Wilkinson hopes Saturday's friendly against the Wolves will be a taster for future rivalry between the clubs in the A-League Mens.
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The Sky Blues arrived in the Illawarra midweek for a mini camp ahead of their clash with Wollongong's National Premier League side at Albert Butler Park.
There won't be any points up for grabs, but the match will serve it's purpose for both teams. Sydney FC are ramping up preparations for the A-Leagues season kicking off in three weeks time, while it's a warm-up for the Wolves ahead of their FFA Cup battle with Mount Druitt.
The two sides aren't strangers to each other, having met in several friendlies and Cup games over the years, while Wolves coach Luke Wilkshire also spent two seasons with Sydney FC.
Wilkinson told the Mercury he expects a hard contest.
"Luke's done a fantastic job with them, so we're expecting a tough game. It's really valuable for us to play friendly games against quality opposition leading up to the start of the A-League season," he said.
"We saw in the old National Soccer League that Wollongong were a fantastic club for a number of years, winning various amounts of premierships. It would be fantastic to see them get into the A-League at some stage but in the time being, I know they're doing a fantastic job at an NPL level. They've got great supporters down there and we've been able to play them semi regularly. It's nice to build up a bit of a rivalry."
While they have entered enemy territory, the Sky Blues can expect plenty of support at Albert Butler Park.
Sydney FC have a strong fan base in the Illawarra, which was evident at their A-Leagues clash with the Phoenix in early January. Despite being the "away" team, as Wellington were temporarily based in Wollongong due to COVID, WIN Stadium was a sea of blue.
"Every time we come down there and play, we get a great turnout of fans. It's fantastic to see that not only will some of our supporters travel down to Wollongong, but we've got some supporters down there as well," Wilkinson said.
"We played the Wolves in the FFA Cup maybe two, three seasons ago at WIN Stadium which was a great night of football. They turned out a great crowd and it was a pretty good game. We obviously know the coach really well in Lukey, he's kept up that relationship with Sydney FC which is great and allowed us to come down and play them semi regularly.
"It will be a good opportunity for fans to come out and support both teams. It's great to see that a crowd will be allowed at the game. We're looking forward to it."
Anyone interested in attending Saturday afternoon's game must pre-purchase their tickets online.
There'll be no tickets available at the Primbee venue.
Everyone over 16 years of age must be fully vaccinated and provide their vaccine certificate on entry.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
