![Tarrawanna player Darren Stone and his Bulli counterpart Lachlan Bryce. Pictures by Anna Warr Tarrawanna player Darren Stone and his Bulli counterpart Lachlan Bryce. Pictures by Anna Warr](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/kZL4qV6yTxfrWZJxKQxjSN/b6674168-dc6b-4d4c-92e7-3c048bffd414.jpg/r0_497_3000_2494_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
There was a time when Tarrawanna and Bulli were considered Illawarra Premier League heavyweights.
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But it's been lean pickings in recent times for the two clubs who square off in a Bert Bampton Cup semifinal at Memorial Park on Wednesday night.
Bulli have had a torrid year in the league and are second last with just one win from 14 games.
To make matters worse they have been without a home ground for the majority of the season because of floods.
In a boost for Bulli, they are expected to play their first game back at Balls Paddock this Saturday against Wollongong United.
The Julio Miranda-coached outfit would love to return home having secured a spot in the Cup final to give the once powerhouse club an opportunity to win another trophy.
Their opponents Tarrawanna head into the local derby in better form, having recorded a 3-1 win over Premier League high-flyers Albion Park White Eagles last weekend.
Blueys coach Jason Wenig was pleased with his team's form of late but stressed he expected a tough encounter against Bulli on Wednesday night.
"I always like to do a Wayne Bennett........we are always underdogs at Tarra," he said.
"Also it's a semifinal, a team's position on the table doesn't really matter. They have a good coach and they're going to be up for it.
"We're not taking it lightly at all.
"Of course we realise we are one win away from playing for a trophy, and that's exciting. The boys are excited and the whole club is excited we are in the semis.
"Knowing that we are one win away from playing for some silverware, we will playing our strongest squad available.
"Tarra, especially at the 2.30pm time slot haven't done that [played for trophies] too many times, especially in the last 10 to 12 years.
"So it's a massive opportunity to be there on the last day and again sort of have the boys all excited and the club excited on a big occasion.
"We're super excited about being one game away and we're going to give it a big crack and fingers crossed we come away with the win."
The winner will progress to the July 14 final at Wetherall Park.
They will play the winner of the other semifinal between Port Kembla and Shellharbour FC, which was originally slated to be played on Tuesday night, but was called off due to the state of the ground following Monday night's heavy downpour of rain.