Warilla Lake South Gorillas and the Milton-Ulladulla Bulldogs head into their showdown at Cec Glenholmes Oval on Sunday afternoon in winning form.
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The Gorillas kicked off their 2024 Group Seven rugby league campaign with a 24-6 win over the Kiama Knights last week, albeit the game was called off early in the second half after a Knights player suffered a major neck injury.
The Bulldogs also cruised to a 24-4 win over Jamberoo in round two to set up a much anticipated clash against a Warilla side looking to improve on their disappointing 2023 campaign.
The visitors Milton-Ulladulla on the other hand played finals football in 2023 and during their impressive season coach Andy Lynch guided the Bulldogs to two wins from as many outings against Warilla.
This was not lost on new Gorillas coach Gavin Walsh, who said his team were keen to get one back against the Bulldogs this Sunday.
"They're a good side. I think they have recruited some handy players so they will be tough to beat," he said.
"They beat us both games last year so we're very keen to hopefully get one back against them.
"It's a big game for us and we're looking forward to it."
With the first round of the competition washed out and Warilla's game against Kiama reduced to only 43 minutes, Walsh said his chargers were hoping to get 80 minutes of football under their belts on Sunday.
"Getting an 80-minute hit out under our belt is what we need at this stage as well as to string some games together," he said.
"We got a fair bit out of last week's hit-out even though it was called off early. We had guys returning from injury who got to play some valuable minutes.
"It was good for the guys to get a game in and work a bit on some combinations.
"We probably could have had three or four possible tries as well. So there's some good signs there that we've got some points in us, which is good because we'll need to score a few this week to get a win."
In the other round three fixture on Sunday, the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets host Albion Park Oak Flats Eagles at Bomaderry Sporting Complex.
Round three kicks off on Saturday with Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies playing Kiama Knights at Berry Showground and Jamberoo Superoos taking on Shellharbour Sharks at Kevin Walsh Oval.
The pick of games on Saturday though is the clash between competition high-flyers Stingrays and defending champions Gerringong Lions at Centenary Field.
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.
