"Truth is, it's a hard ask to expect us to win Mackellar and Warringah at this election," Anthony Albanese conceded on Tuesday.
It could be the understatement of the election: neither of the Sydney electorates has ever voted in an ALP MP, according to the Australian Electoral Commission.
The deputy prime minister spent the second day of the 2013 campaign deep in Liberal territory with a visit to Brookvale Oval on Sydney's northern beaches.
Mr Albanese was joined by Sports Minister Don Farrell to announce $10 million in funding for a purpose-built grandstand at the sports ground to seat 4350 people.
The money would come from a community infrastructure chest that was allocated in the last budget.
Flanked by Manly Sea Eagles players, Mr Albanese who's a die hard South Sydney fan, said rugby league was a major identity-shaper.
He recalled childhood trips to "Brookie" during school holidays, and being forcibly kitted out in a Sea Eagles scarf by an older cousin.
"It's that sense of memory about who you are and where you come from," he said.
The sports ground is squarely on Tony Abbott turf: the opposition leader has held the seat of Warringah for nearly two decades, and enjoyed a convincing 13.1 per cent margin at the 2010 federal election.
Fellow Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop kept Mackellar, just over the electoral border, with a 15.7 margin.
And it wasn't just the geography that the government muscled in on - Mr Abbott has campaigned on a $10 million promise to refurbish Brookvale Oval at the last two elections.
But Mr Albanese said his government wouldn't shy away from campaigning in long-shot seats.
"Labor believes in representing all Australians, it's the opposition that seems to be intent on dividing the community," he said.
