The Nowra-Bomaderry Jets will be looking for their fifth straight win on Sunday when they take on the Group Seven leaders Gerringong Lions (10-1) at Bomaderry Sporting Complex.
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It has been a phenomenal second-half turnaround for the Jets who started the year 0-6, while the Lions have seen continued success throughout 2022 despite a plethora of injuries across the season, showcasing the talent and quality of the club.
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Jets skipper Adam Quinlan said he's excited with the team's recent success and credits all the players willingness to listen and learn each others playstyles.
"I think over time we've started to figure out how each other plays and form combinations from there," Quinlan said.
There's a new level of confidence amongst the side, who saw Berry make a late game comeback last week; the Jets remained level-headed and ran away with the win thanks to two late tries.
"I think if that was early on in the season we probably would have let them run away with it," Quinlan said of the team's new composure.
"Everyone backed the team's ability and communicated well, it's awesome to see that when things go against us that we can regroup and hit back."
This weekend will be a real test going up against the giants of Group Seven, the Gerringong Lions, who have only suffered one loss the entire year.
"There's no bigger test in the comp than Gerringong, it's going to be a very big challenge for us but we're at home and we're on a run of form," Quinlan said.
"If there was ever a good time to go up against the Lions it's now and we can hopefully keep on building, because it's going to tale a lot and hopefully we put up a really good test for Gerringong."
"We can't afford to quit now at this point of the year and we need to keep the momentum going."
For the Lions they'll look to continue their classy and skilled brand of footy this weekend, with some welcome additions back to the lineup off the injury list.
Centre Hamish Holland will return to the Gerringong squad along with Toby Gumley-Quine, both players have seven tries on the season but add way more than just scoring prowess to the juggernaut side.
Skipper Nathan Ford credits the teams continued success to the culture that's been built at the club over the past decade.
"We haven't trained much with the recent weather but having some guys there for multiple years has really helped us out a lot," he said.
"We know each other's games really well and that's helping us to take it out on the weekend even without regular training."
With a rotating injury list throughout the year, there has been multiple young players who have stepped up from the lower grades to help steer the ship, showing the Lions culture runs deep.
"It's been great to have the young kids coming off the bench each week, giving them a taste of first grade and it's a testament to the club culture that's been built up," Ford said.
Looking to the weekend, Ford said the team remains focused to playing the same style of footy they have all year with a priority on the defensive side of things.
"I've seen pieces of their games (Jets), they're going really well and have some great attacking weapons in Ryan James and Adam Quinlan so we'll look to shut those guys down if we can and stick to our game going forward," Ford said.
"The middles will probably have to get some inside pressure on Quinlan's kicks and make sure they can't get into too much attacking territory"
"Every team shows up against us trying to knock us off."
That game will kickoff at 3pm at Bomaderry Sporting Complex on July 24.
Across the rest of the league, Jamberoo will host Warilla at Kevin Walsh Oval, Kiama will look to protect their home field against the Stingrays, Sharks will look to rebound against Milton-Ulladulla and Berry will look to secure their second win at Berry Showground against Albion Park-Oak Flats.