Cardiff coach Danny Priest is expecting Indigenous trio Trevon Sherrin, Trent Thompson and Billy Towers to fire against Maitland as the club celebrates Sir Doug Nicholls Round.
The Hawks have again embraced the annual AFL initiative, which celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and will don commemorative jumpers for the occasion today.
The club is hosting three games at Pasterfield Sports Complex with the men's Black Diamond Cup clash at 2pm to follow men's and women's Plate fixtures.
Priest said his side's Indigenous players - Sherrin, Thompson and Towers - had "all been playing really well" this year and were pumped for the special game.
He was particularly expecting young gun Sherrin to shine facing his old club.
"He is a Maitland junior but his sister plays in our women's side and he joined us this year," Priest said.
"He is a very exciting player. He is quite young still, I think he is only 19, but he is a very naturally talented player. He plays on instinct.
"Being Indigenous round, he is pretty excited about it."
After a bye last week, Cardiff are hoping to build on a breakthrough victory over Terrigal-Avoca a fortnight ago, their first win over the Panthers since 2019.
"I don't think Terrigal had lost in 40-odd games either," Priest said.
The second-placed Hawks are only one win behind unbeaten leaders Killarney Vale, the only side they have lost to.
A win over Maitland today would set-up another top-of-the-table clash between the two sides next week. Maitland are second last having recorded one win from five games this campaign.
Newcastle City takes on Warners Bay in what will be their first game this month after two washouts and a bye. Coach Mitch Knight said the extended break came just as his side had found some momentum.
"We took a couple of weeks to find our feet and thought we were building nicely," he said.
"We had a pretty bad preparation leading into the year - two pre-season games washed out - so we hadn't really played much footy as it was.
"We're just praying we get a game in and hopefully pick up where we left off."
Killarney Vale make a trip up the freeway to face last-placed Singleton.
