If you had have given coach Ben Kirkland three wins from the first five games he would have taken it without any hesitation.

But don't for a second think his side see this Saturday's clash with Wauchope as a free game.

The Sharks have quietly gone about their business to claim three wins from their first four matches, including last weekend's comfortable 32-12 win over Old Bar.

And now, Kirkland wants his side to maintain the rage against the only undefeated side in the competition.

"We want to keep getting better," he said.

"I (originally) wanted us to make the finals, but since we've started so well, we want to start looking at being minor premiers because we don't want to go somewhere like Kempsey."

The key to their successful start to the season has been due to a positive attitude and "showing up for your mate" as shown in last weekend's win.

"They (Old Bar) had probably 60 per cent of the ball and we kept turning up in defence," Kirkland said.

"I told the boys in the sheds after the game that you can't coach that, it's an attitude thing."

Players such as Mitch Wilbow, Joel Antilla and teenage halfback Josh Dwyer have all taken their games to another level.

"We lost a lot of talented blokes (last year), but we still have a lot of talented young blokes playing well," Kirkland said.

"I've given Joel a fair bit of responsibility because he's a self-proclaimed hooker or lock forward, but he's staying back after training and doing extras.

"Some of these kids now know what it takes to be first graders."

Second-rower Scott Grant will miss the clash to rest a niggling knee injury sustained at Old Bar.

"After surgery you get a sharp pain behind the knee which really scares you, but it's just scar tissue so we'll give him a week off," Kirkland said.

Kirkland believed the key to victory over Wauchope was with keeping the ball in play for as long as possible.

"They like to drag you down into the grind," he said.

"We've got to be up-tempo, kick long and chase hard."

Wauchope coach Anthony Boyd knows his team are in the middle of a tough three-week stretch.

"It's a tough run, (we had) Breakers, now Sharks and then Kempsey - they give you the benchmark of where you're sitting," he said.

"We've got a few injuries from last week, but they should be right."

The Blues are another team that have surprised most pundits who tipped them to be closer to the bottom than the top.

"It's a fairly even competition and every game we play is going to be a tough contest," he said.

"Once you're sitting top one or two, sides always get up for you - I don't think sides were expecting us to be there."

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