The Panthers lead the competition and have done so the majority of the season, while the Tigers sit sixth and are the defending premiers.

Last time the teams played in round two, the Panthers left Exies Oval with a confidence-boosting 22-18 victory.

Black and Whites co-coach Craig Morriss said that early result confirmed his suspicion the Panthers were building something special at the club.

“We’d backed up for the second week in a row for a good win and we were starting to see what we were made out of,” he said.

“But this game now is going to be a massive game. Waratahs and Black and Whites both lift when they play each other through their rivalry.

“Most of the boys are good mates off the field and work together or associate outside of football. But when it comes to game time, the two clubs meet and usually it’s very hotly contested.”

The fiercest battle at EW Moore Oval will undoubtedly rage up the middle on Sunday, with both sides boasting some of Group 20’s biggest bodies.

One player the Panthers will have to try to contain is Tigers prop Mike Ioapo, who bagged a couple of tries in a metre-eating performance against Darlington Point-Coleambally last Sunday.

But in a team that also contains Johnny Teleaga, Kose Lelei and Viliami and Shorne Ngu, singling out one Waratahs player for special attention is a dangerous strategy.

Morriss said few sides could score points as quickly as the Tigers.

“If their passes stick, with the forward momentum they get, they can score any amount of points,” he said.

“It’s very hard to work out their game plan sometimes.

“It’s normally just getting some forward momentum and then relying on some individual brilliance off the back of that.”

But Black and Whites have players like Andrew Lavaka, Stephen Broome, James Williams and co-coach David Milne who can be equally devastating. 

Morriss said Sunday’s match could be a classic.

“Every game the young blokes look to test themselves and this week will be one of their biggest,” Morriss said.