In fact, the men and women from down south have taken home the winners’ shield so often that Moruya Touch Association president Phil Caffetto has lost count.

And the president, who will also take his place tonight in Moruya’s over 40s side, was confident that the town would claim the shield once more.

“We’re really looking forward to it this year,” he said.

“There are a lot of young people coming up and a lot of young people have put their hands up so I’m confident.

“We’ve got a good mixture of younger and older players and it’s important to have that. The juniors are our future and we (the senior players) can’t keep going forever.”

However, Batemans Bay Touch Association president Rob Beattie stated his belief that 2013 would be Batemans Bay’s year to shine.

“It’s been a good event every year but hopefully we can turn the tables this year,” Beattie said.

“We look forward to the rivalry that there is between the two towns.

“We’re hopeful (that we can win the shield). I’ll let you know how confident I am on Saturday morning.

“There are a lot of regulars but we’ve also got some younger kids who are going to play this year for the first time.”

Beattie said the Bay’s over 40s team was his town’s ever reliable source of inspiration and tipped the veterans to continue their success tonight.

“Our over 40s have won for the last few years so hopefully (they can keep that going).”

However, Caffetto had a different plan in mind.

“I think our over 40s might do well this year,” he said.

“We’ve got a much younger side because we’ve just had a lot of guys turn 40.”

Win, lose or draw, Beattie insisted the event was all about fun and said it provided players from both towns with “something different”.

“It’s just a different event, it’s played differently and they don’t get to play these people week-in, week-out so it’s something new for them,” he said.

“After winning for the last few years, Moruya is probably in a confident mood and them having it at home should help them out.”

All games will be played at Gundary Oval in Moruya and tonight’s first match gets underway at 6pm.