THERE may be still one week until the 2020 Group Seven Rugby League post-season kicks off but this Saturday's clash between Shellharbour and Jamberoo has a distinct finals flavour.
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The equation for both sides at Ron Costello Oval is simple.
Win and play finals football.
Lose and rely on other round 10 results to sneak into the top five.
As it stands, the Superoos sit in second on 11 points, just ahead of a quartet of teams (Kiama, Warilla-Lake South, Shellharbour and Nowra-Bomaderry) on 10 - with 47 for and against points separating third and sixth.
And with Nowra and Warilla playing bottom two sides Berry-Shoalhaven and Albion Park-Oak Flats respectively on Sunday, a victory for the Sharks and Roos is even more important.
This aspect isn't lost on Sharks centre Donte Efaraimo and his side, who fought back to defeat premiers Kiama in their last match.
"All the boys are feeling good, especially after how well we played in that second half against Kiama," Efaraimo said.
"We showed that game how if we stick together, we can overcome any adversity that's thrown at us and that gives us plenty of confidence moving forward.
"Everyone's excited to get back on the field after a week off and build on that win, especially as this weekend has a finals feel - which is why you play footy."
The last meeting between the 2017 and 2018 premiers was in last season's qualifying final at Ron Costello Oval, which the Roos won 20-10.
"Whenever you come up against Jamberoo, you know you're in for a contest and I'm expecting this to be another classic, with so much riding on it," the Sharks outside back, who's side will be without the injured Brody Rigg who hurt his knee against Kiama, said.
"It's always tit for tat, with both teams going on runs in the game - it's just about making sure you're in front at the end of the 80.
"They got the better of us in the finals last season and that loss still hurts a lot of us - we were minor premiers and went out in straight sets.
"Finals football is expected at our club and anything less than that will be extremely disappointing.
"To give us the best chance of that, we know we need to stand up on the defensive end and work together as one, to try and put pressure on Jamberoo when they have the footy."
On the flip side, despite sitting in second for most of the season, Jamberoo, after only claiming three points from their past three matches, can fall to sixth if they lose on Saturday.
As such, the Kevin Walsh Oval-based side will be locked and loaded for Saturday's must-win contest.
"It's just a case of the semi-finals coming a week early," Superoos captain/coach Jono Dallas said.
"It's a unique year and unfortunately the big issue with a half-season is the ladder doesn't have the time to sort itself out the way it usually does.
"It always takes about three-quarters of the season before the top five stands out but with this season, it's much more intense.
"We find ourselves sitting in second at the moment and are the only side to get a point out of Gerringong - we are very confident that we deserve to be where we are.
"As a group, we want to earn everything we get, so winning this week is all we're concerned with at the moment."
Like Shellharbour, who have the likes of Ryan McCracken, Nick Greenhalgh, Kiran Tranter and Abe Atallah under injury clouds, the Superoos will be hoping both James Gilmore and Brendan Smith can make a return to the green and reds this weekend.
Regardless of which 17 players take the field, Dallas knows his team's approach won't change.
"Like any game, you can't go into a match worrying about any single aspect of the match," he said.
"We always aim to give respect to the entirety of the opposition and focus on performing as a whole team.
"We will be doing that same thing this week."
As mentioned earlier, Nowra will host Berry at the Bomaderry Sporting Complex and the Park take on Warilla at Centenary Field - both on Sunday.
Saturday's other fixture sees minor premiers Gerringong battle Stingrays at Michael Cronin Oval.
Kiama is one of two sides, along with Gerringong, guaranteed a finals spot, as they have the bye in round 10.
All first grade matches kick-off at 3pm.
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