What we learned from round three of this year's Illawarra Premier League

Round three produced five winners across the region, while there were 20 goals scored in six games.

Cringila sent a warning shot to their rivals by thrashing Shellharbour 7-0; Wollongong United breezed past Helensburgh by 3-0; Olympic beat Corrimal 3-1; Port Kembla and Bulli drew 2-2; Coniston beat Tarrawanna 1-0; and Albion Park defeated South Coast United 1-0.

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Here are five key talking points to emerge from round three:

They left it until late to put Saturday's game to bed, but Wollongong Olympic made it three wins from three starts after beating Corrimal 3-1 at PCYC.

The hosts had their chances to score early, however, it was the Rangers who hit the scoreboard first through striker Bruno Gervasoni in the 39^th minute. Olympic then equalised before halftime via Rick Goodchild.

The game's turning point then came midway through the second stanza when Corrimal's Keegan Matias received his marching orders.

Olympic made the most of that one-player advantage, with Jason Madonis mustering a late brace to secure the victory. The result comes after the men in sky blue opened their account with 6-3 and 2-0 wins over Helensburgh and Tarrawanna.

"I think we've had a really good start to the year. We worked hard in the off-season in strengthening the side and we wanted to get off to a good start, so I'm pleased with the first three rounds of the season," Olympic coach Matt Bailey said.

"I've been really pleased with our starts in matches. The first half of the first and second rounds were really strong for us, and the first 25 minutes were again really strong for us (on Saturday). The only disappointing thing for us is that we didn't have something to show for that dominance. But credit to Corrimal, we didn't convert or reflect the scoreline, and they worked themselves back into the game.

"If you look at the competition last year, I think the successful teams started the season really well, and that's the focus for us. It's important to get those runs on the board and make sure that we continue with that consistency throughout the year this year, and then hopefully peak towards the back end of the season and into the finals.

"It was a key part of our plan, which we've executed on quite well to start with."

Boy, Cringila could not have made more of a statement on Saturday.

Many pundits expected the Lions to face a stern task against Shellharbour, but it was 'Crini' who flexed their muscles at Barrack Heights Sports Ground with a thumping 7-0 victory.

Reigning Golden Boot winner Peter Simonoski scored a first-half brace - taking his 2024 tally to six goals - while Josh Correia also mustered a double and teammates Ben Zucco, Andre Dias and Tyler Fuller found the back of the net.

It was Cringila's most impressive win to date, following 3-0 and 4-2 victories over Port Kembla and South Coast United in the opening fortnight.

Despite losing three competition points in the pre-season, Jorge De Matos's men are already entrenched inside the IPL's top five, and are piling the pressure on the top three.

On the flip side, Saturday's clash was a tough pill to swallow for Shellharbour.

Last year's District League champions had made an impressive IPL debut, opening their account with a 2-0 win over Tarrawanna and a remarkable 4-3 come-from-behind victory against Corrimal.

However, Cringila delivered a reality check in round three, with the 2023 grand finalists jumping out to a 4-0 lead by halftime. They then almost doubled that advantage in the second stanza.

Rod Williams's side will be hungry to atone quickly for the defeat, but another tough task lays on the horizon next weekend.

Shellharbour will be back at home again in round four to face Wollongong United, who claimed an impressive 3-0 victory over Helensburgh on Saturday.

Speaking of United, round three marked Jordan Nikolovski's best performance since arriving at Macedonia Park.

The former Port Kembla skipper was among United's biggest off-season signings, and he delivered on his promise against the Thistle on Saturday.

After coming off the bench in round two, Nikolovski started against Burgh and had his first goal inside five minutes. The young forward then completed his brace before the half-hour mark.

The hosts then put the result beyond doubt midway through the second half when Mitsuo Yamada found the back of the net.

After mustering a win and defeat in the opening fortnight, Saturday's win now improves United's record to 2-1 under new head coach Rob Jonovski.

They have a chance to put another marker down when they take on Shellharbour in round four.

Round three produced five winners, while Port Kembla and Bulli were forced to share the points after playing out a 2-2 stalemate at Wetherall Park on Saturday.

In a see-sawing battle, the Zebras hit the scoreboard first through Adrian Avello in the 11^th minute, with Port maintaining that 1-0 advantage at halftime.

The visitors fought back around the one-hour mark via a nice header from recruit Denim Nou, before Marco Pennisi wrestled back the lead for Port five minutes later.

The hosts looked destined to notch up their first win of the 2024 season, however, Bulli had other ideas, with Lewis Grimshaw producing the equaliser with four minutes remaining.

It was reward for the Balls Paddock team, who showed great courage to emerge from the contest with a point next to their name.

The result means that Port and Bulli have both secured their first point for this year's IPL.