![Long-serving Jamberoo player-coach Jono Dallas will hang up the boots at the end of this season. Picture by David Hall Long-serving Jamberoo player-coach Jono Dallas will hang up the boots at the end of this season. Picture by David Hall](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kZL4qV6yTxfrWZJxKQxjSN/2ea1a864-a0c0-4c3a-8acc-4e3071304fee.jpg/r0_0_1200_675_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Saturday's Group Seven rugby league showdown against Milton Ulladulla-Bulldogs is shaping up to be the last time Jamberoo Superoos player-coach Jono Dallas plays at Kevin Walsh Oval.
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The Jamberoo-Superoos longest-serving player will retire at the end of the season.
The sixth-placed Jamberoo will have to qualify for the finals to ensure Dallas gets another opportunity to play at his beloved home ground.
Only victory over the fifth-placed Bulldogs will do for Jamberoo on Saturday.
Both teams head into the penultimate round equal on 16 points. A win for either team will put them in the box seat to finish in the top five, with just one game to play in the regular season.
This is not lost on Dallas, who has played almost 350 games for Jamberoo since the club rejoined the Group Seven competition in 2009.
The 35-year-old is also mindful he could well be playing his last ever game at Kevin Walsh Oval.
But Dallas wasn't concerned with any personal highlights, his focus was on trying to lead his injury-hit squad to victory.
"It's not about me, it's more important that we play well and win to keep our season alive," he said.
"For me it's cool to know that this will probably be the last time I play there but it's got nothing to do with what is motivating the team, I don't think."
It's been a difficult season for Jamberoo, especially in terms of how many injuries they've had.
"I've never experienced a year like this, we just haven't had anything go our way when we've needed it to. I think we are up to eight blokes out for the season, it's been tough," Dallas said.
"It is what it is. We've got together this week and realised we've had a lot of adversity that have made it a difficult year and to be perfectly honest, probably shouldn't really be in the picture, but we are.....it's just a matter of having a bit of a clean slate, forgetting what's happened for the last 16 weeks and narrow them down to two games, if we win them we're in the finals, then anything can happen.
"We are just really approaching this week as a stand alone game of footy as opposed to getting bogged down to what's gone wrong for us throughout the season.
"It's been a bit refreshing to be honest, so hopefully that works well for us tomorrow.
"Whoever wins aren't guaranteed to go in because the last round can still have a bearing but I think whoever does win this is going to be in a much stronger position to be playing finals, so that's what we're looking at."
The penultimate round of the competition also features a rematch of last year's grand final, with premiers Warilla-Lake South Gorillas taking on Gerringong Lions at Cec Glenholmes Oval on Sunday.
Remarkably the injury-ravaged Troy Grant-coached Gorillas still have a slim chance of playing finals football but they need to win both of their remaining games this regular season and hope that either Jamberoo or Milton lose both of their games.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Nowra-Bomaderry Jets play Kiama Knights, the Shellharbour Sharks will look for their 11th win on the trot when they visit Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles, while league leaders Stingrays of Shellharbour hosts cellar-dwellars Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies.
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