At their best, Warringah and Southern Districts are two of the most entertaining sides in the Shute Shield.

Both sides have showed glimpses of their best in the opening five rounds but consistency has been an issue, adding further intrigue to Saturday afternoon’s clash at Rat Park.

With three wins each, Warringah sit one spot ahead of Souths in fifth place and both sides need a victory this weekend to stay in touch with the competition leaders.

After a disappointing effort against Eastwood in round four, Darren Coleman’s Rats bounced back and claimed a 38-24 win over West Harbour at Concord Oval last Saturday.

“It was a step in the right direction after a pretty horrible performance against Eastwood but we still had too many handling errors,” Coleman told Rugby News.

“We had 10 linebreaks to West Harbour’s three last week. It’s good to know we can create opportunities but we need to execute to beat a team like Souths.”

Warringah are yet to win at home this year in front of their loyal supporters and Coleman said the key to ending their drought at Rat Park was to stop the Rebels momentum.

“Apo (Latunipulu) in the midfield and their forwards are all strong ball carriers and when they consistently get over the gain line, their backs with Asquith and Godinet are tough to stop.”

Souths picked up a bonus point win against Penrith last weekend, but Matt Barr still doesn’t think his side is firing on all cylinders.

“We’ve been inconsistent, but we‘ve had a tough start to the year. Fortunately though, it’s given us an opportunity to identify areas we need to build on and develop as a team,” he said.

Former UQ captain and Aussie 7s forward Conor Mitchell will make his run-on debut for the Rebels on Saturday however fullback Jamie Verran will miss the clash with a groin injury.

“We’re excited to have Conor, he’s a good defender, he’s got strong breakdown skills and a very high work rate. He is a great addition to the club and has fitted in really quickly.”

“Warringah is a team that likes to attack with a lot of skill and pace out wide. We’ve got to defend well and apply pressure through execution and ball control in attack,” Barr said.