They moved on from coaches Craig Stapleton and Hans Schuster and brought in Troy Grant and Neil Farmilo, which led to a huge change in the playing roster.

A number of the elder statesmen of the Cec Glenholmes Oval-based club, such as Aaron Henry, Tyson Brown, Lloyd Thomas and Chad Lisch, decided to not lace up the boots in 2020.

This left the likes of young-guns Blair Grant, Jake Brisbane (who both returned from St George Illawarra's under 20s set-up), Oscar Fitzpatrick, Callum Gromek, Sam Hooper, Kye Deane and Duke Grant to steer the ship, along with recruits Justin Jones and Blake Dowel - who will miss Sunday's clash against Gerringong with concussion.

What this group lack in experience, they make up for energy and enthusiasm - as shown in their opening three fixtures.

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They were edged out by Shellharbour in the wet, before knocking off the premiers at the Kiama Showground - which had the team on an upwards trajectory.

However, skipper Blair Grant admits the side took a step back with their 'disappointing' loss to Nowra-Bomaderry in round four, before heading into the bye.

"The bye came at a good time for us, as it allowed us to freshen up and really concentrate on our poor performance against the Jets," halfback Grant said.

"After being on such a high after that Kiama game, we were really brought back to earth last game.

"Our performance across the board against the Knights was fantastic and we carried that enthusiasm into the start of the Nowra game, but when they went down to 12 men, we lost our way a little and got complacent - allowing the Jets to get on top of us.

"We all know we are a young side and there's going to be bumps along the way but the most important thing is we learn from each of them and stick to our structures.

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"Everyone knows their roles in our squad and it's just about producing it for the full 80 minutes consistently."

The Gorillas next chance to prove themselves comes in the form of the red-hot Lions - a team Grant last played against in the 2016 Group Seven grand final.

"We know the way Gerringong like to play, so it's up to us to match them, especially through the middle of the park," Grant, who hopes this season can be the start of a Gorillas' dynasty in Group Seven, said.

"A win on Sunday will go a long way to showing we are on the correct path.

"All of us here are at the club are great mates and would love nothing more than to bring a premiership back in the near future."

While Grant's side has understandably endured an up and down season, the league-leading Lions have been flying high, with a perfect 4-0 record.

"The side has been ticking along quite nicely so far but there's always room for improvement," Lions halfback Rixon Russell.

"We've picked up a couple of injuries to our forwards (Kal Collins and Tim Moore) in recent weeks but we are lucky enough to have some depth this year to cover them.

"Last week Alex Weir and Judd Collyer stepped up and I'm confident whoever we put out of the park will do a job for us."

Russell, who was part of the Lions' back-to-back premierships in 2015 and 2016, believes there are plenty of similarities between those sides and Gerringong's 2020 outfit.

"This year's side is right up there [in terms of talent]," the 29-year-old said.

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"I don't want to get too far ahead of myself but it's one of the best sides I've ever played in.

"We've got strength all across the park and if we can stay fit, anything is possible."

One position the side has significantly strengthened in 2020 has been at five-eighth, with the return of Lions junior Tyran Wishart - who scored three tries in Gerringong's win against Albion Park-Oak Flats on Saturday.

"No disrespect to the other guys but we've been lacking a number six since Pat Cronin left," Russell said.

"Tyran has filled Pat's boots, if not exceeded them - we're very lucky to have him.

"He's an out and out footballer - he's tough with his carries, while also got that flair about him.

"If he keeps his mind at it, I can't see why he can't push on to play in the NRL."

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Although he doesn't know a whole lot about the hosts' side, Russell is more worried about his team's performance on Sunday.

"If we lay the platform in the forwards and match their enthusiasm, it will go a long way towards winning on Sunday," Russell, who also highlighted the strong play by Nathan Ford, Matt Winchester, Kayne Brennan and Hamish Holland, said.

"I know they are a young side and no doubting they'll be up for the challenge of trying to hand us our first loss of 2020 - it will really show how well they are travelling.

"The fact a lot of their side are unknown commodities is a dangerous proposition, so it's imperative we put together our first full 80-minute performance.

"Although we've scored the most points this season (146), we've also conceded the fourth most (88), which is very unlike Gerringong and plain and simple, it's not good enough.

"Mick [Cronin] has been emphasising that at training this week and I'm sure, if we can fix that up, we'll be hard to stop."

Elsewhere in round six, Nowra-Bomaderry takes on Shellharbour, Albion Park-Oak Flats host Jamberoo and Stingrays battle Kiama - with Berry-Shoalhaven Heads having the bye.