Wakehurst coach Frank Chiarella is pleased with his side’s application following an extremely tough run of fixtures.
The Tigers have faced four of the competition’s top five sides in the last month and pushed a quality Brookvale all the way before conceding a late goal in their 2-1 defeat last weekend.
With injuries impacting his squad, Chiarella has taken the opportunity to blood some of the club’s young talent with an eye on the future.
“Despite the results, it’s been a good few weeks,” the Wakehurst coach said.
“The effort of the guys has been unbelievable, especially with such a young squad at the moment.
“We’re almost a completely different team to the start of the season with injuries so I’m extremely proud of the guys taking it on to mix it with the best.”
This weekend Wakehurst host 11th-placed Manly Vale at Lionel Watts.
While Chiarella is wary of their ability to pick up an upset result, he is more focused on continuing his own team’s development.
“To tell you the truth I’m more worried about how our team is playing at the moment rather than what the opposition are doing,” he said.
“This is quite a unique season and it’s really allowed us to get younger boys in, who are the future of Wakehurst.
“Manly Vale have some strong players that we definitely need to be aware of but it is much more important to focus on what we’re doing.”
Elsewhere, second-placed Brookvale visit Harbord and Curl Curl will look to regain their winning touch against top-of-the-table Pittwater.
In other matches Seaforth host Belrose-Terry Hills, Narrabeen meet CC Strikers and Mosman travel to St Augustines.
