Wollongong Wolves left-back Walter Scott has implored his teammates to turn WIN Stadium into a fortress when the neighbouring Bulls Academy comes to town on Friday night.
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The hosts will head into the round-19 clash as favourites, with the 12th-placed Wolves holding a significant advance over the Macarthur outfit on the NPL NSW Men's first-grade table.
The Bulls are scrapping with the Wanderers to avoid relegation heading into the back end of the season. Conversely, a win on Friday night could help the Wolves springboard as high as ninth on the ladder, depending on other results this week.
It all means that there will be plenty on the line when the Bulls head down Picton Road to Wollongong. However, it's a game that Scott isn't taking lightly.
"They'll be desperate coming down on Friday night. Everyone that comes to WIN knows how great of a venue it is to play at. And they're just up the road and they've certainly got something to prove this weekend," Scott said.
"It's the A-League off-season so you never know who could be in their squad, in terms of some first-hand professionals. So it will be a tough game for us."
For the Wolves, Friday night provides them with a chance to build on a promising performance against Marconi last week.
David Carney's men took it up to one of the competition's frontrunners at 'The Palace', before the Stallions won the game in the 88th minute.
That result came on the back of Wollongong securing a promising 2-0 win over Sutherland, taking their tally to five victories in 2023.
Scott said the Wolves were hungry to take that tally to six at WIN Stadium.
"This weekend provides us with an opportunity again, at home which we love, to be able to pick up some points and turn these good performances into points," Scott said.
"It's been a really challenging part of the season. There's good things coming together on the training park and in our performances, but this is a real opportunity for us to sharpen our teeth and get some points on the board.
"We were left to lick our wounds against Marconi on the weekend. They're a team that's sort of opposite to us on the table that we really took the game to and dominated, but came out with nothing.
"So this week's been one in which the group's really focused on being clinical as a whole group, whether that's scoring goals or defending goals, it's about focusing on those moments.
"We will continue with our process that has been standing us in good stead performance-wise, but we need to sharpen our tools. That's what we've been working on this week."
The Wolves under-20s will also host the Bulls on Friday night, as they also aim to notch up their sixth win of the 2023 season.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
