Sullivan's side will be chasing their first win of the season in the clash against Port City tomorrow at the Wingham Sporting Complex following close losses to Forster-Tuncurry and Wauchope in away games. The Tigers will start former NRL star Matt King in the centres in what will probably be a one-off appearance.

Wingham were busy in the off-season with recruitment and Sullivan said King's involvement tomorrow will only give critics fuel to comment on. He doesn't care one iota.

"It's all part of the criticism - that we're trying to buy a comp,'' he said.

"But it all creates interest and gets people talking about the game. That's got to be a good thing.

"And our players will get the chance to see how Kingy goes about things this weekend - he's very professional,'' Sullivan added.

Sullivan is more worried about breaking the side's duck.

"We don't want to go 0 and 3,'' he warned.

Sullivan said his side's ball handing has been a major problem in the opening two games while he described the attack was 'clunky' at times against the Blues. However, he pointed out the Tigers could have won both, despite playing indifferently. They were beaten by a converted try in the dying minutes of the clash against the Hawks and denied by a late field goal against the Blues.

"It's always good to get a win with the games on the road, but unfortunately we came up just short in a couple of tight matches,'' Sullivan said.

He agreed that in a two round, 14 game season, a strong start is needed. However, Sullivan added that he will still target a top three finish to avoid sudden death games early in the finals series. He is confident the Tigers can achieve this goal.

"I believe in bush footy you need two cracks at it, so we need to finish in the top three,'' he said.

Winger Michael Bailey will miss tomorrow after tweaking his hamstring against the Blues so King slots into the centres, where he'll partner Kurt Lewis. Versatile Brodie Myer shifts to the wing - the third position he's played in three games.

Related

The Tigers will also welcome back forwards Joel Kleindienst and Nick Beacham from suspension and injury.

"This will be the first time we've had our full complement of front rowers,'' Sullivan pointed out.

Kleindienst will be in the run-one side and Beacham on the bench.

PORT City Breakers coach Dan Kemp "can't wait" to see his side tackle Wingham at Wingham on Saturday.

Former South Sydney Rabbitohs centre Matt King will line up on the other side of halfway in a guest stint for Tigers captain-coach Michael Sullivan when the two teams do battle.