There's more than a win and bragging rights at stake for Balgownie in their top of the table clash with Wollongong at North Dalton Park on Saturday.
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The Magpies are keen to prove to themselves and the rest of the teams in the Illawarra cricket competition that they can match it with a Wollongong side which handed Balgownie their heaviest ever defeat this season.
Bally captain Rob Fisher admitted the competition leaders had had the wood on his team this season but stressed the Magpies were finding form at the right time of the season and looking to avenge their losses to Wollongong earlier in the season.
"Wollongong have probably had the wood on us this season," he said.
"They gave us a bit of a hiding in the T20 competition and then we had a really heavy defeat, probably Balgownie's worst ever defeat in the one-day match against them, so we definitely want a better performance against them on Saturday."
With four regular season games to play before the finals, it's highly likey these two teams will meet again in the post-season.
This is not lost on Fisher, who said Bally was building nicely ahead of the semis.
"We've got pretty much everyone back on the park now, so hopefully our big guns perform when needed," he said.
"Graham Batty is a class above. He is back to his form of 10 years ago. He is obviously a class above.
"We have Jamie Fleming back from injury. He is probably the best off-spinner in the Illawarra.
"We've got Adam Berwick, who is an ex-NSW Country player.
"We'll be looking at them to have a big finals series.
"I think we need to bat well. If we bat well and Adam, Graham and myself score runs, I think that will go a long way to winning our remaining games.
"I'm really happy with how we are building and I'm looking forward to the semifinals. I think we can give it a good shake."
Meantime, the sixth-placed University are looking to bounce back from a shock last-start loss to Dapto, by downing Keira at Keira Oval.
The match at Keira Oval will double as the inaugural Dick Dallas Memorial Day.
Uni captain Angus Cumming said it was a special day for both clubs.
"Both teams will be keen to win this game because of the significance of the occasion, definitely," he said.
"It's a big game for us and it's always good to play against the Keira boys, who obviously have a couple of ex-Uni players in there. It's always a good challenge.
"But for us, we need to keep winning to give ourselves the best chance of making the finals," he said.
The Students started the season well by making the T20 grand final but unfortunately they have in Cumming's own words been inconsistent in the one-day competition.
"But we're not putting too much pressure on ourselves and we don't want to be results driven," Cumming said.
"We've been trying to stay the same all season, just trusting our processes and if we play the way we want to play we're pretty sure the results will come."
In other matches, Helensburgh play Wests Illawarra, Corrimal battle Dapto and Northern Districts hosts Port Kembla.
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Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
