As the Illawarra was hit by a deluge over the past fortnight, one venue has been in high demand.
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That is Ian McLennan Park, the sole synthetic football pitch within the Illawarra.
It's the site of the only two Illawarra Premier League matches played this season and also hosted an Australia Cup fixture on Wednesday.
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The Wollongong Wolves trained at the facility last week, however the field was booked out this week.
That forced the side to travel to Sydney to prepare for Saturday's NSW NPL clash with Northbridge.
For coach Luke Wilkshire, it's a situation that's simply not acceptable for a region the size of the Illawarra.
"We need facilities," Wilkshire said. "One synthetic pitch is not enough. It's nowhere near enough for our region.
"It's the entire region. It's not just us, we're one team, there are so many teams and players missing out, not training, not improving due to the lack of facilities."
The Wolves have looked into building a synthetic turf of their own, however the cost is prohibitive, with Ian McLennan Park costing more than $2 million in 2018.
That has seen the club seek out partnerships with Wollongong Council and Football South Coast, the Wolves hoping the groups can work together to build another all-weather pitch.
The Wolves will return to the synthetic turf at Sydney United Sports Centre for the second week in a row, Wilkshire hoping for a different result this time around.
Last Sunday saw the side fall to Sydney United 1-0, with Banri Kanaizumi and Senna Stevenson both sent off in the defeat.
With the pair to sit out this week, Darcy Madden will return from a suspension of his own, with Japanese recruit Takumu Tsujimura likely to step into the starting side.
It's a pair who boast plenty of experience at the NPL level and Wilkshire is confident they will help lead the Wolves to their first victory of the season.
"We need to be better up top," Wilkshire said. "We need to be more clinical and playing with 11 men would help as well.
"We've got Darcy coming back from suspension, which is good for us, and it looks like I'll bring Takumu into the starting line up as well. There might be a few other little changes.
"Darcy has experience, presence, he has a lot of quality. Him coming back into the team is a plus."
The Wolves struggled against Northbridge last season, the Macarthur Bulls feeder side prevailing at WIN Stadium early in the year.
A last-gasp Stefan Dimoski goal secured a tense Wolves victory in the return bout, but the experience shows Saturday's clash will be a hotly-contested affair.
Wilkshire will coach against his old Socceroos teammate, and Wollongong product, Mile Sterjovski.
The former Wolves striker is expecting a typically combative performance from Wilkshire's side however he's confident his young Bulls can pull off an upset.
"We had a couple of good battles last year," Sterjovski said. "We won a game each, both games were very close and great games to watch.
"Luke's done a great job with the Wolves since taking charge and we don't expect anything less on Saturday.
"You can see his personality come through in his team. It's good to have a player with so much experience, who has played at the highest level, bringing wisdom to a team and it's rubbed off on the players."
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