Standing in their way at Hayden Drexel Oval this weekend are Ulladulla United - the side they defeated in the one-day final in December.

And although Daniel Gleeson's Ex-Servos haven't lost any of their matches against United this season, he knows they are a very dangerous and underrated outfit.

"Ulladulla are quite a balanced team across the board, with them probably being better suited to the two-day format," Gleeson said.

"Especially with guys like Harley Bell, Aaron Wester and George Walker who can hold up an end for long periods.

"While those three are obviously three wickets we'd like to get cheaply, as captain I'm worried about guys like Brad Field and Wes Holmes who play with the 'see ball, hit ball' mentality.

"Then obviously Peter King and Matt Shea both hit the deck hard with the ball, so if we can limit the damage early and see them off, it should leave us in the good position." 

While he acknowledges the strengths of the visitors' side, he knows his team to focus on what they do first and foremost.

"I've said all year long, our bowling attack, led by Nate Jones and Trevor Thomason, is as good as any in the competition," he said.

"So it's up to our batsmen to perform to the level I know they're capable of - something we did as a team against Berry-Shoalhaven Heads in the second last round.

"Obviously our top four batsmen, including myself and Chris Bramley, are important, but as we bat so deep, if two of our guys score half centuries, I'm more than confident we will post a score of more than 200.

"Then if we are lucky enough to have three guys make big scores, a total of more than 250 isn't out of the question."

A total of 250 has long been seen as a benchmark winning score with the bat at Hayden Drexel Oval, but Gleeson doesn't agree with that.

"In the past, other captains have stated the important of scoring upwards of 250 in their first innings but I think I've played enough cricket, especially at HDO, to know that isn't the case," he said.

"Any score upwards of 170 will be hard to chase down and I stand by that."

If Ex-Servos were to reach their second straight two-day final, Gleeson said the whole team would be over the moon.

"Obviously we didn't play our best in the one-day final but still came away with the win," he said.

"In the T20 final, we played poorly and were made the pay for that by Berry - a loss the whole squad still rues. 

"So if our group, who are starting to get on with age, weren't able to qualify for the grand final, I think it would be seen as an underachievement.

"With a number of players such as Trevor Thomason, who has been an extraordinary servant for Ex-Servos over the years, calling time on after this season, I'd really like to send them out on top - which all start with this weekend's semi-final."

On the other side of the ledger is United's Harley Bell, who was actually part of the club's last first grade semi-final side back in 2009/10 - which coincidentally lost to Ex-Servos.

With that being the case, Bell says all his boys are pumped to try and get into that grand final.

"Training this week was really positive and there's a really good feeling around the club at the moment - we can feel we are on the verge of something special," Bell said.

"Semi-finals don't come around every day and we intend to make the most of this opportunity."

While still disappointed about going down in the one-day final to Ex-Servos, Bell admits his troops learnt a lot from that defeat.

"In the one-day final, we didn't bat as well as we could and we know that's where the match will be won and lost this weekend," he said.

"We just need to spend as much time at the crease as we can and put pressure on their bowlers.

"If players like myself, Aaron Wester and George Walker can dig our heels in, there's no reason we can't make a big total of more than 250, which I think is going to be needed to beat this Ex-Servos side at HDO.

"If we can do that, we've seen how well Matt Shea can bowl at that ground - so with him, Peter King and Aaron Wester among others, I'm confident we could defend that total."

If they were to make the grand final for the first time since 2004/05, which they won, Bell admits it would be huge for the whole club.

"This is one, if not the strongest Ulladulla team I've been a part of, which is really exciting," he said.

"A lot of that has to do with the hard work Aaron Wester has put in the past couple of years to get the club where it is today."

Play will start at 1pm on Saturday and 10.30am on Sunday.