![Antonio Lavalle [above playing against Culburra] will be looking to lead Milton Ulladulla to victory on Saturday.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/z8hBhxAZcc6GAanbqacDHK/dc273669-97a1-470c-a9dc-ade2f4c5c3d4.jpeg/r0_353_3872_2530_w576_h298_fmax.webp "Antonio Lavalle [above playing against Culburra] will be looking to lead Milton Ulladulla to victory on Saturday.")
You sense that the Milton Ulladulla and Illaroo players are ready to produce the match of the season on Saturday.
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These two fierce Shoalhaven Football Association first-grade rivals will clash in Saturday's [June 29] match of the round at Sharman Park and both have points to prove.
Illaroo will be out to show why it deserves its current top spot on the ladder and a win over last year's premiership winner [Milton] is one way to get this message across.
The Panthers will want to make a statement and show all the others teams that their title defence is well under control - despite a season dominated by draws.
Panthers' coach Nick Palagyi should have no difficulties getting his team motivated for the match.
"The best recipe for us this weekend is just to relax and be ourselves. We know our strengths and we know how we like to play, so our approach will be to focus on playing the style of football that defines who we are," he said.
"Of course, there'll be a lot of eyes on the result, but regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end we'll judge ourselves on the performance we put in and whether or not it is at the level we demand from ourselves."
Illaroo with six wins and two losses sit on top of the ladder with 26 points, while the Panthers are in third spot with 20 points.
Last weekend the Panthers recorded a 1-all draw against St Georges Basin, while Illaroo smashed Shoalhaven Heads 8-1.
Coach Palagyi said his players know they have to perform or someone will take their place in the top grade.
"We've got some serious competition for selections which is a fantastic place to be as a club. However, it means a lot of tough decisions each week and it requires a lot of resilience from the players who are affected," he said.
"Across all areas of the park, we have a lot of talented and experienced players who are missing out on first grade selection each week.
"You don't want your players to be 'okay' with not being selected, but we're all human and being able to contend with receiving that sort of disappointing news can be really hard. "
He added the club had "heaps" of players who were "flying under the radar" at the moment.
"We have a number of players who are easily good enough and deserve to be playing more, but unfortunately the numbers equation and ensuring we keep enough consistency out on the park each week just means it's not possible," the Panther's mentor said.
"The resilience shown by those players has been top-notch. These guys are our secret weapons. We know what they're capable of and we know they'd walk into a lot of other first grade teams.
"So in that way they're all under the radar for now, but they're so important to us and are likely to be the key to any success we have this year."
The Panthers also continue to build a strong spirit and culture at the club.
"Our whole squad is working really well together in training and we're picking up consistent results across all three grades," Palagyi said.
The culture that these players have established and nurtured over the last few years is fantastic - it's a really special and very unique. It's not impacted by results.
"We're always there for each other, and in tough times or good times that care and respect that everyone has for each other doesn't change.
