While the Wests Tigers travel to Bathurst to take on the Penrith Panthers, the father and son combination of Stephen and Alex Isdale will be at Leichhardt Oval, aiming to guide the next generation of Tigers to the grand final of the Harold Matthews Cup.
Finishing the regular season in second place - only behind the Canterbury Bulldogs - the Western Suburbs Magpies will face the Cronulla Sharks in a must-win game on Saturday to reach the grand final for the first time since 2022.
The last time that the Magpies reached the grand final in the Harold Matthews Cup competition, the team consisted of NRL players Lachlan Galvin, Kit Laulilii, and Tallyn Da Silva, as well as future stars of the game Heath Mason, Luke Laulilii, and Will Craig.
Aiming to create their own history, Magpies skipper Alex Isdale and coach Stephen Isdale spoke exclusively to Zero Tackle ahead of one of the most important games of their rugby league career to date.
Initially coaching over at Parramatta in one of their junior teams, Stephen was brought into the club by good friend Shannon Gallant (Wests Tigers Pathways and Junior Recruitment Manager) and was previously involved in the Magpies 2022 win as an assistant coach.
"It's pretty special for the boys to be playing at Leichhardt, and they're looking forward to it. They're excited," Stephen Isdale told us.
"It's a good vibe. We've got lucky enough to have 24 of our 27 players that are local juniors, so there's a good bond there, and we've got good players."
With the team named earlier this week, the Western Suburbs Magpies team consists of a plethora of up-and-coming stars of the game, including Isdale, Heamasi Makasini, Glassie Glassie, Ashton Large and Phoenix Godinet.
However, they will be without five-eighth Onitoni Large due to injury, meaning Jhevon Lele will enter the halves alongside his skipper.
Despite not playing the Cronulla Sharks this season due to the competition's draw, the team went undefeated - drawing in the final game to the Eels - and will enter the game after having a week off.
However, having not lost this season comes with added pressure in a must-win game. The Magpies coach made sure to tell the squad to "go and enjoy" themselves on the field.
"The way I tell people with the boys, I just said, 'You guys have played plenty of Schoolboys finals or Schoolboys representative honours or rugby honours that you have dealt with pressure and known what's expected of you', so you don't need to put the pressure on yourself," he added.
"Go and enjoy yourselves, and then do what you're good at.
"Most of the boys have already played some big games, and they know what to expect."
While Stephen Isdale will be coaching from the sidelines, son and captain Alex Isdale will be leading the team on the field.
A talented playmaker, Alex has attended Westfields Sports High and Patrician Brothers Fairfield and entered the Wests Tigers junior representative system after beginning his journey with the Parramatta Eels.
In one of his first interviews, he told Zero Tackle that one of the main reasons for joining the Tigers system was to move closer to home and his roots.
"We've got a good group of boys, and we're all so close, so it's been good to lead this team, and I love it a lot," Alex Isdale said.
"It's just good brotherhood, and it's been good to captain this team.
"We're all pretty close like the group's really tight at training and outside of training.
"Everyone fits in, and there's no drama. So that's why all the boys have a good vibe at training."
While it may be a must-win game for both the Magpies and Sharks, Isdale revealed that it is really calm at training at the moment as they get ready for Saturday.
"Really calm at the moment, just training like every other week, not trying to change anything up and everything stays the same," he continued.
Idolising QLD Maroons and Australian Kangaroos stars Ben Hunt and Cooper Cronk, Isdale was lucky enough to meet current Queensland halfback Daly Cherry-Evans and learn some tips from him.
"He was really a good bloke. He's really generous," Isdale added.
"He said as a half, you want to kick long to corners, just keep building pressure because kicking game is the most important."
The Western Suburbs Magpies will face the Cronulla Sharks at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday at 11am (AEST).