Luke Holmes played his 200th game for the Warringah Rats on Saturday but the former Super Rugby hooker believes the time for personal milestones is over as his side searches for a breakthrough premiership.

“I think it’s the strongest Warringah first grade side I’ve played in, there is talent right across the park and I think we’ve got a great opportunity, we just need to turn up each week and put it all together when it counts,” Holmes said.

“We’ve got a number of guys who I think are all playing the best footy of their career at the moment. Guys like Sam Ward and Tom Preece are a bit more mature, then you’ve got more experienced guys like my brother and some new guys at the club like Sam Thomson and Sam Needs who have played plenty of grade games.”

After a disappointing loss to Souths in round 17, Holmes returned from injury from the bench as Warringah bounced back and beat Norths 18-11 on Saturday to secure third spot and a home semi final against Randwick this weekend.

“We don’t really dwell on losses for too long and we quickly moved on after that loss to Souths and bounced back well last week against Norths. We had a lot of ball last Saturday and Norths just kept on defending their line and showed exactly what they are made of.

“Randwick are a lot like Norths, they move the ball a lot and they have a lot of skilful players. They might not be as big as some of the other sides but they are great with ball in hand and can score from anywhere. If we allow them to play fast and move the ball a lot, then we’ll be in for a tough day.”

Just days after playing his 200th game, Holmes, who is also general manager at Warringah said he was thrilled to see the club in such a positive place.

The Rats have four grade and two colts teams in the opening round of the Shute Shield playoffs this weekend and their women’s side won the Sydney premiership late last month.

“In the past, we’ve had success at colts or success in a particular grade but we haven’t been as strong across all grades in my time here. The depth and stability right through the whole club is amazing and it’s just a fun place to be at the moment,” he said.

Warringah have also been successful off the field and Holmes said the Northern Beaches community is well and truly behind the club heading into the finals.

“Kids around here want to be Rats first before they become Waratahs or Wallabies now and I think that’s a really special thing. When you walk around town you see lots of people wearing Rats merchandise through the week, people are wearing Warringah hats and talking about the games, so it’s exciting.

“If we can bring home some success, it will be a great reward for the community and it will be great to celebrate it together.”

That tight knit community was rocked earlier this year following the tragic death of lower grade player Lachie Ward, brother of first grade forward Sam.

“Everyone is playing for Lachie. Sam has been such an integral part of the Rats for so long and his family are all very involved in the club,” Holmes said.

“Lachie was a massive part of the Warringah family. We joke that he was Sam’s funny side. Sam is such a serious, hard working, honest guy and Lachie was the one that bought all the laughter to that family and he’s obviously missed. We’re all thinking about him every time we play.”

Holmes admitted there was no shortage of motivation at Sydney’s most northern club heading into the playoffs but warned Rats fans not to get too far ahead of themselves just yet.

“It would be massive to play in a grand final and hopefully we can do that in a number of grades, but first we need to focus on this weekend and for us, we’ve got a tough game against Randwick.

“If we can win our next two games, then anything can happen in a grand final.”

All four Warringah grades will play at Rat Park on Saturday from 10:15am, with first grade kicking off at 3:10pm. Warringah’s first and second colts teams play away on Saturday and Sunday respectively.