The apprentice will try to outwit his master when Avondale travel to take on Kiama in their round seven Illawarra District Rugby Union fixture on Saturday.
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Back in the day Joe Aiona was captain of the James Patrick-coached Avondale side which won five premierships in a decade.
Aiona is now coach of the Wombats side which faces a Kiama side coached by Patrick.
Both men admitted they were looking forward to locking horns against each other.
They also conceded their respective teams were best-placed at the moment to challenge the all-conquering Shoalhaven.
Heading into Saturday's stoush at Kiama Showground, the only loss Avondale and Kiama have had this season came at the hands of reigning premiers Shoals.
Patrick said both the Cows and Wombats would be looking to secure a win and keep pace with the undefeated leaders Shoalhaven, who have a bye this weekend.
"I always look forward to this game," Patrick said.
"We haven't played it for a few years so it is extra special.
"I'm really looking forward to it. It's always a good thing playing against the old club. It's also important for both sides in terms of keeping pace with Shoalhaven."
Patrick said Kiama were travelling nicely at the moment but still had a lot of work to do to consistently challenge the bog boys Avondale and Shoalhaven.
"I think we've got a lot of work to do as far as the club is concerned but we are travelling all right at the moment," he said.
"I thought we played well against Uni last week, who were good themselves.
"I know though that we need to be better against a very good Avondale side."
Unfortunately for Patrick the Cows will be without the influential Paul Asquith, who is still recovering from a broken arm he suffered in Kiama's loss to Shoals three weeks ago.
Patrick admitted Asquith was a loss but Kiama were up for the Avondale challenge.
"I'm excited for this game. These are the type of games you want to play," he said.
"We've got a big mountain to climb tomorrow but we are looking forward to the challenge.
"They're a big side, as they've always been, and they play a very direct game. We are under no illusion it is going to be a tough game. It is going to be every bit as tough as Shoalhaven and we wouldn't expect anything different to be honest.
"We need to be smart. Defensively we have to match their physicality but in attack we probably need to be a little bit smarter."
Patrick added it would be great to get one over his former captain Aiona, who also admitted he would love to beat Patrick's Kiama outfit.
"Look we are improving every week but we've got a big game coming up against Kiama," Aiona said after his team downed Shamrocks.
"We can't afford to play like we did in the second half against Kiama, they'll make us pay.
"Kiama have recruited well. They have some real exciting players. They've had some good results under James Patrick, who used to coach me here. It's going to be awesome to go up against him, hopefully we can get the win."
In other games, Campbelltown hosts Shamrocks, Camden play University and Bowral welcome Tech-Tahs.
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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.
