Dan Posch believes his Shellharbour City Suns are the most improved side in the AFL South Coast competition.
But the Suns coach feels his team still has a ways to go to close the gap on heavyweights Figtree Kangaroos and Wollongong Bulldogs.
Nevertheless Posch was adamant his Suns would be doing everything in their power to down the Kangaroos at Myimbarr Community Park on Saturday.
"I'd probably say we're one of the most improved sides and one of the youngest sides in the comp," he said.
"I just think that improvement just comes with the territory of being a young side - that development can happen quickly.
"I think from the start of the season to now, we're probably an eight-goal a game better side."
Posch though said his team had to play better across four-quarters on a consistent basis to challenge 'benchmark' teams like Figtree and the Bulldogs.
"Figtree are sensational, they're the benchmark of the competition," he said.
"They are the undefeated premiers from last year, and they really just don't have any weaknesses.
"They're strong players across all lines, very well coached, very well drilled and disciplined side. We have a lot of respect for them.
"It is a great opportunity for us to go out and play and have some of our younger kids line up against some guys that are rated very highly on their side."
Posch said a consistent effort on Saturday would make him very happy.
"Results show Figtree and the Bulldogs are probably a little bit ahead of where we are at the moment," he said.
"For us it's just about closing that gap.
"We have showed against both those sides that we can match them for periods.
"The time that we played Figtree this year, we had a couple of good patches where we matched or even outplayed them. So it's just about just trying to get a bit more consistency and making sure that we're competitive across the four quarters."
Elsewhere on Saturday the Bulldogs play Kiama Power, while the Northern District Tigers host the Wollongong Lions.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content.
Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play
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.
