South Sydney have landed at Mudgee for Saturday's Charity Shield at Glen Willow, and boom hooker Damien Cook says his Rabbitohs aren't just looking for a final pre-season hit-out, they're desperate to hang on to bragging rights.

The Rabbitohs have held the shield since 2013 and after naming an all but full-strength side to take on the Dragons on Saturday afternoon, outside Greg Inglis, Cook says they have no plans of handing the trophy back to their old rivals.

“We've got a great rivalry … we’re obviously playing for a bit of silverware as well and we’ve been able to hold that for the last couple of years and we hope to do it again this year," he said, speaking to the Mudgee Guardian.

A win would be the perfect springboard into the 2019 NRL season for the Rabbitohs too, especially considering they face the premiership-winning Roosters in March 15's opening game of the season.

There is more to it than that of course, the fact the clash has once again been taken to regional NSW isn't lost on Cook and he says his side is well aware of how important that fact is, to the sport and its next generation of stars.

“For us as players to be role models to those young kids out there to is so important because hopefully we inspire them to play sport, hopefully rugby league, and go on to live out their dreams like we did when we were younger,” the NSW State of Origin rake said.

“They don’t get to see NRL players live very often so it’s great that we take the game out there."

He went on to laud the Glen Willow facility in the lead-up to Saturday's clash too, the Rabbitohs were on hand on Thursday afternoon for a signing session, which gleeful Mudgee fans lapped up.

“The best thing is the fields are in an outstanding condition, it shows how much the town really love their rugby league,” Cook said.

“We couldn’t believe how good of a condition the grounds really were. Credit to the groundskeepers and Mudgee Dragons for keeping the field in such great condition.

“The whole facility is good enough for NRL level every round. It’s a great field to play on and great atmosphere too."

The South Sydney Rabbitohs will take on the St George Illawarra Dragons from 7.30pm on Saturday evening.