Inglewood United captain Greg Sharland and his Balcatta counterpart, Adam Tong, will very much be on the same page when their teams clash this weekend at Grindleford Reserve. The fixture is part of ‘Rivalry Round’, a concept established to emphasise some of the local game’s derby matches and to create new traditions around others. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Sharland. “There’s rivalry every game you play but to come up with something like this is a good thing, especially if it gets people interested.”

Balcatta has strong links to Western Australia’s Italian community and, therefore, has a traditional rivalry with Perth SC and Bayswater City. Tong, a mainstay of his teams’ defences since arriving ain town almost five years ago, is open to the idea of forging a new rivalry with Inglewood, a club less than ten kilometres from Grindleford Reserve. “It’s a good boost for the players,” said Tong. “We’ll get a bit more stuck in and hopefully come away with the points.”

Inglewood have slipped down the National Premier Leagues standings of late, the club currently placing eighth, but Sharland is adamant they will surge back into finals contention. “We want to play finals football and last year we had a squad that could push for that but underachieved,” he said. “This year we’ve strengthened the squad and are really pushing for a big finish.” Balcatta have won seven of their last eight games to have climb to second on the ladder, just four points behind leaders Bayswater City.