Wollongong Wolves building nicely towards NPL season

The NSW NPL team fell to Wollongong United 2-0 a fortnight ago, the Wolves well below their best.

Read more: Long journey to equality to commence at Wollongong Road Cycling World Championships

Wilkshire is confident there will be no repeat performance when they play Coniston on Tuesday night.

"We didn't turn up," Wilkshire said. "It's simple. If you don't turn up with a desire to play, you don't win.

"It was a learning curve and a wake up call for us. There's no better time for that to happen than in the pre-season."

The Wolves are building steadily towards a round one clash with Sydney United 58 on March 6.

Since the loss to United, Wollongong have drawn with Sydney Olympic and defeated Sutherland 2-1 on Saturday night.

A trip to Canberra is coming this weekend, with games against Capital Football's Monaro and Gungahlin.

Wilkshire's side has plenty to work on, but he's pleased with where they're at.

"We're getting there, we're not too far away," he said. "The performance against Sydney Olympic was better and Sutherland even better.

"Our general understanding is improving, how we want to play and control the game."

Meanwhile, the Wellington Phoenix women's side will remain in Wollongong for the remainder of the season due to uncertainty over when New Zealand's borders will reopen.

To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.