HAMILTON coach Scott Coleman admits that Wanderers have caught him by surprise.
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The talk of the Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union pre-season was that the Two Blues, who finished fifth last year, were "rebuilding".
Then, in round four, Wanderers stunned the Hawks 24-12 to take hold of the Hawthorne Cup.
Since then, the Two Blues, who went down in three straight grand finals to Hamilton from 2015, have lost just one game and emerged as front runners to disrupt the Hawks' bid for a record fifth straight premiership.
Coleman won't be caught off guard again and is treating the clash against the surprise packets in the final round at Passmore Oval on Saturday as a semi-final.
"In the first encounter, they out-muscled us, out-played us and out-enthused us in every facet," Coleman said. "We are out for redemption, that's for sure.
"They have had a few senior blokes - Dan Kevill, Ben Ham, Luke Sherwood - come back for a last hurrah. They picked up the Fijian (Nimi Qio), Chase Hicks, Piers Morell and a few others. Credit to [coach] Dan Beckett. He has obviously got the club culture back. There is no replacement for culture and getting everyone wanting to play for each other. It will be a good test to see where we are at at this time of the season."
Hamilton (69 points) have already secured the minor premiership and a break in the first week of the finals.
"We are treating it like a semi-final," Coleman said. "We will have a crack, then we get a week to either fix what we don't do right or improve the things we do get right. We are primed for a big game and want to win it. There is no secret there."
Wanderers, who without the suspended Ham, won't alter their approach.
"We went back to the good old days of being a park footy team," Beckett said. "We would be going away from who we are if we played any tricks.
"I know the boys are excited and they know this is a bigger challenge. Sometimes you can second guess what the best form is going into semis. We are lucky that we have the No.1 team in the last round."
While "focusing on us", the Two Blues won't lack motivation given the Hawthorne Cup, which they have held for a large chunk of the campaign, is on the line.
"Phil Hawthorne was a big part of Wanderers and we put a high price on the Hawthorne Cup," Beckett said. "A big part of our year has been about connections. We know what the prize is at the end of the game.
"In the first round, that win was all heart. We have probably improved since then but we are still going to need plenty of ticker to knock them over at their home ground. They are a completely different team now. They are quality."
In other games Saturday, Merewether have been boosted by the return of Jarome Wilson, Jay Strachan and Bill Coffey for the away clash against University. Singleton will be out to beat cellar dwellers Southern Beaches and moved above University to eighth spot. A near full-strength Lake Macquarie travel to Nelson Bay.
