Campbelltown look to continue great Illawarra Rugby form against Shoalhaven

However, the Will Miller-coached outfit will still be heavy favourites with Shoalhaven looking to extend their winning run to 32 games on Saturday, June 29 at Campbelltown Rugby Park.

Campbelltown has gone on a four-match winning run, with a tight 33-25 loss to second placed Kiama on April 27 the last time the team has tasted defeat.

Shoalhaven and Campbelltown locked horns earlier in the season, with Shoalies coming away with the 24-14 win thanks to tries from Harri Hibbs, Joey Nelson, Jack Watts, and Mathew Batt.

Heading into the clash, Shoalhaven captain George Miller said his team were looking to continue their impressive winning mentality.

The skipper gave some insight to the Mercury on how they have managed to remain unbeaten for an incredible amount of time.

"You have got to look at you you are playing each week, but it's mainly about what we can control rather than who we're coming up against," Miller said.

"We're just trying to improve as a group and also individuals each week. We haven't really spoken about it (the winning run), but it is something for our boys to be proud of. But at the end of the season, you take each game as it comes and worrying about going undefeated isn't really an option for us.

"We just have to take it week by week and see what happens at the end of the year."

Miller also shed light on his experience at representative level with the Illawarriors, with the side coming within a whisker of taking out the grand final against Central Coast.

Miller, as well as Kiama's Jack Hobbs, Tech Waratahs' Eli Sinoti, and University's Tom Baker all made the NSW Country Cockatoos squad for the Australian Rugby Shield tournament later in the year for their exploits playing for the Illawarriors.

For the Shoalhaven captain, he said the near miss of a grand final at rep level had left him hungry for more.

"Getting so close this year makes you want to do it again and try and go one better," he continued.

"At the moment, I'm just focused on Shoalhaven and what we can do this year more so that worrying about next year. [Selection into the Cockatoos side] was a bit of a surprise. But I'm happy to give it a go and see what the squad's like."

This round of Illawarra Rugby will see four games take place on the same weekend for the first time in 2024.

With crunch time fast approaching, teams on the edge of the top four such as Bowral and Tech Waratahs desperately need consistent wins to have any chance of playing finals.

Fixtures for Saturday, June 29 are as follows (all kickoffs are 3pm):