Inglewood United captain Greg Sharland and Balcatta’s Adam Tong will be on different sides but the same page when their teams clash in Saturday’s Rivalry Round match at Grindleford Reserve.

The Rivalry Round concept was established to emphasise some of the game’s derby matches and to create new traditions around others.

Pictured: Inglewood's Greg Sharland and Balcatta's Adam Tong. Photo: 3P Photography

Sharland and Tong like the idea but do not necessarily see this weekend’s opponent as a particular rival, even though their home grounds are less than 10km apart.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sharland said. “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.”

Englishman Tong, a towering defender, has been in WA for almost five years and knows Balcatta has a traditional rivalry with Perth SC, which, like Balcatta, has strong links to the Italian community. Perth will take on another Italian-backed club, Bayswater City, at Frank Drago Reserve on Saturday.

“It’s a good boost for the players,” said Tong, of the Rivalry Round concept. “We’ll get a bit more stuck in and hopefully come away with the points.”

Balcatta have climbed to second place on the table, trailing top side Bayswater by four points. Goalscoring hero Gustavo Catarcione came to their rescue last weekend when he scored twice to secure a 2-1 win over Armadale, who had scored first through Dannie Richman.

Sharland said Inglewood remained focused on finishing strongly.

“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.”

Tong said Balcatta were capable of further improvement after surprising some teams this season.

“The season’s going well and people have underestimated the young squad that we’ve got,” he said. “We’ve got some quality players in our team. We’re just hoping to get better and better and start playing the brand of football that Ramon wants us to play.”