The Sharks exacted revenge for last year’s grand final loss with an emphatic 4-1 win during their most recent encounter and are yet to be bested this season.

Now, the Lake Albert juggernaut is looking to make it a lucky 13 against their old foes.

“The break was good and we’ve got a full squad right to go this weekend, so we should be back to full strength” Baumer said.

The Hawks have enjoyed a strong run of late and haven’t conceded a goal in their past three games – stats that haven’t gone unnoticed by their rivals.

“We whacked Henwood last time around but they’ve definitely improved,” Baumer admitted.

Henwood Park coach Ryan McKenzie agreed with the assessment but shifted the spotlight back on his opponents.

“We’re excited to be going up against Lake Albert again because they’ve really been the benchmark this year,” McKenzie said.

“We’ve got to size ourselves up pretty early on if we’re to get a good result.”

McKenzie is eager to put their earlier loss to the Sharks behind them, arguing the side has “worked out its kinks”.

“That game we played against them was quite early on in the season and we were having a few issues with getting our positions right at the time,” he said.

“For us, it just comes back down to consistency and we’re starting to get there.

“We’ve had the same blokes in the midfield for the past five weeks now and I think our results are reflecting that.

“Carl Pideski’s been particularly good in there, the fellas look up to him and he’s been really been the general of the team out in the middle.”

In-form Hawk Joel Tancredi will miss Saturday night’s game while Jonathon Roach is also unavailable after picking up his third yellow card during Henwood Park’s 8-0 win over South Wagga.

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