Their rivals on this occasion will once again be AFL Hunter Central Coast, who won both corresponding fixtures in 2019.

But men's coach William Ryan admits that will hold very little weight on Saturday, May 22 when the sides run out onto North Dalton Park.

"Hunter was bigger and faster than us last time," Ryan, who was an assistant coach in 2019, said.

"They were more mature and able to outplay us at the contest, then move the ball quickly with us chasing tail.

"This year the aim is to be more structured with our ball movement and our approach to the game.

Read more: Heavyweights fall as South Coast quartet remain in contention at Rottnest Search

"Each line is aware of its role and how to move the ball up the ground and out of defence.

"Obviously, with a short turnaround, there are some limitations to this, but the squad have been great at picking it up and running with it."

Ryan, who guided Figtree to their maiden men's premier division flag in 2020, has been one of the driving forces to keeping senior representative fixtures on the calendar.

"AFL on the South Coast has shown massive growth over the last five years, with footballers from Sydney, Canberra, the Riverina and the coast competing in the growing competition," said Ryan, who is enjoying his first stint as AFLSC head coach.

"A representative game gives the league the ability to showcase that talent on a bigger stage against another league.

"The ability for the AFLSC to measure itself against more established AFL leagues around Australia provides a benchmark for the clubs to measure their growth against."

As excited as Ryan and his squad are, the 30-year-old mentor admits their preparation has been rushed

"The decision to have a representative game in a COVID-19 climate was made only two weeks ago," the Eastlake junior said.

"The clubs have been great at allowing us access to their players, and the players themselves should be commended for taking the time to come to training and for those selected to play on what could have been a weekend off footy."

Read more: Extraordinary streak sees Jono join Jamberoo's 300-game club

Headlining Ryan's squad are Figtree's Jacob Hennessy, Adam Schuback, Ben Ryan, Max Harper, Leroy Veerhuis, Michael Coleman and Nick Hay, which also consists of Wollongong Bulldogs' Christian Foster, Matthew Westaway, Patrick Walker, Alex Hay, Eddie Keogh and Bentley Murphy, Wollongong Lions' Sam Wilson, Lachlan Konza and Taylor Clark, Kiama's Ben Hoctor, Sam McGowan and Ben Williams and Shellharbour's Jarrod Falconer - with Dogs' Louis Gooden and Suns' Angus Boultoun as emergencies.

"The squad this year is younger than previous years, with a few scattered older heads," said Ryan, who played in the Ovens and Murray league with Wodonga Bulldogs during his time at university.

"We aim to be fast, skilled and hard at the ball all day.

"The players selected have been picked to fill a specific role and execute that role come game day.

"The coaching staff were very considered in their approach to selection, factoring in both current form and history within the competition.

"From the first training session, it was made clear that as a team, we are not going into this game to be competitive; we are going in to win."

Read more: South Coast pair's Warriors to stay in Australia for remainder of 2021 NRL season

Ryan believes this mix of youth and experience will help his side record a historic win against their northern rivals.

"A win would be massive for the South Coast region," he said.

"The Hunter is an established league with a large number of quality players, including ex-AFL.

"For a fledgling league like the South Coast to secure a win on our home deck would really promote AFL within the region and to the rest of NSW that we aren't just the young kids on the block anymore."

The men's game, starting at 2.30pm, will follow the women's clash (12.40pm) - with Ben Hyndes coaching the AFL South Coast side for the first time.

Hyndes was the women's co-coach, alongside Bomaderry's Geoff Gibbs, during their 2019 fixture and emphasised how much the standard has improved across the board since then.

"The quality of the league has improved drastically over the past two seasons," he said.

"With Saints returning from Sydney to Wollongong, they brought some top quality play and experience to the competition - which has helped elevate everyone else.

"On the back of this improvement, our preparation for Saturday was been really solid, with the girls training at a high intensity to ensure they are ready for the Hunter.

Read more: Phoenix secure one victory on tough Central Coast road trip

"Understandably, they got the jump on us early, which shocked a lot of the girls in their first representative fixture but we've learnt a lot from that and are aiming to match it with them from the very first bounce.

"We're all looking forward to Saturday because representative games like this allow our players to showcase their skills against other talents leagues."

For Saturday's clash, Hyndes' side, which has Krysty Bishop as an assistant coach, features Lions' Jordan van de Voorde (vice-captain), Mikaela Allen, Rani Sossai, Kirsty Philpott, Elecia Parrott, Sarah Parker and Courtney Goodhew, Bulldogs' Luisa Marzotto (captain), Erin Doyle, Breanna Goschnick, Abby Dixon and Romy Bradmore, Saints' Sally O'Donoghue, Alicia Anderson, Caitlin Williams, Jenni Stanton and Courtney Hart, Bomaderry's Lily Macdonald, Kiama's Kelsey Wishart, Northern Districts' Una Mackay and Ulladulla's Mel Staunton.