They were forced to put their feet up last week but Thirroul coach Jarrod Costello says his side can't afford to miss the jump in Saturday's monster showdown with Collegians at Gibson Park.
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Collies were unstoppable in one of just two games to go ahead last weekend, running in 11 tries in a 62-4 demolition job on Corrimal.
The Butchers have enjoyed just one outing so far this season, a 38-16 win over the Canaries at Dapto Showground a fortnight ago.
The final scoreline did not tell the story of the opening 40 minutes that saw the Butchers trailing 16-6 and set to be on the wrong end of a Canaries boil-over.
They found their groove in the second half, but Costello does not expect the reigning premiers to let them off the hook should they repeat the effort.
"We expected Dapto to play well. They're a young side that really scrap and they threw plenty at us," Costello said.
"We'll need to be a lot better against Collies this week. They were really good last week against Corrimal and scored a lot of points.
"They're led really well by Boof (Blake Phillips), Josh Dowel and those guys through the middle, so it's a big ask for our guys there.
"They make a real point of being up when they come out to our patch so they're always hard to beat out here at Gibbo.
"Fieny (Nathan Fien) always has them ready to rock and roll so it's all ahead of us, but we're pretty confident if we play the way we want to play we'll be right in it at the end."
Some class told in the second half against the Canaries, with new recruits Wayne Bremner and Steve Marsters doing the damage as the Butchers ran in 32 unanswered points.
The addition of both strike weapons is huge for Costello given a turnover that had left the club exposed in the outside backs.
"Brem was awesome. You wouldn't have thought it was his first game for a couple of years," Costello said.
"I chased him for a couple of years, we thought we had him in 2020 but he had a knee injury and didn't play. We've got him here this year and he didn't miss a beat.
"He really contributed in yardage for us and at the front end of the field as well. He'll only get better when he starts getting some combinations happening with some guys in our team.
"Steve Marsters had some touches there in the second half that really showed his class. They haven't played much footy at all in the last couple of years so they'll only get better the more games they can string together."
In another major boost Costello will pair halves Tarje Whitford and Mitch Francis together this week for the first time since they spearheaded the Butchers to the Open Age premiership in 2020.
They'll need to find another gear to replicate the effort in the top grade this season and Costello won't be asking for too much too soon.
"I just want them to control the end of our sets in particular," he said.
"It's one area where we let ourselves down against Dapto. Our fifth tackle options weren't great and we'll just be looking to Tarje and Mitch to make sure we're finishing in the right areas.
"That's all we want from them. We haven't had a lot of time on the field together at all but they played the whole 2020 season together in the first division side that won the comp.
"They know each other well and we're lucky to have a guy like Ryan Fletcher in the team that really helps control things as well. Whether he's playing lock or at nine, he helps the halves get us around the field."
Elsewhere in the Mojo Homes Cup, De La Salle will be looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season when they host Dapto at Captain Cook Oval on Saturday.
Cronulla Caringbah and Helensburgh will both be looking to break their 2022 duck when they meet in a derby at Cronulla High and Wests will take on Corrimal in a fixture shifted to Community Oval Moss Vale on Sunday.
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
