Leichhardt relishing battle with NPL’s best
LEICHHARDT FC’s Cameron Nucifora is ready to be put through his paces this weekend when Heidelberg United FC roll into town for a pre-season hitout.
The Melbourne club and 2018 National Premier League Victoria champions will make the trip north to take on a Leichhardt FC invitational side this Saturday at the Cairns club’s White Rock fields.
Although the preseason contest will be a “friendly” match, Nucifora said Cairns players would relish the chance to test themselves against a high-quality football outfit.
“They’re a pretty club,” he said.
“They have a great reputation and are known as the best (football club) outside the A-League.
“It’s not every day you get to play against a team like that, so it’ll be a great opportunity to see how we mix it with the top guns.”
The Leichhardt FC invitational side will include prominent guest players from other Cairns clubs, including Straford’s Joe Rusch, Mareeba’s wellknown Darcy McCormack and Southside’s Andrei Rachita, and also brothers Dylan and Zeca Soares.
Heidelberg coach George Katsakis said he would be using the time in Cairns “very effectively”.
“It’ll be a full-strength, 20man squad, bar our captain, Luke Byles, who couldn’t travel this weekend,” Katsakis said
“I know that the climate is hot and humid and I like to do a bit of work at this time of the year where we are under duress,” he said.
“Working hard in the difficult conditions works really favourably for our preseason.”
Leichhardt FC treasurer Darryl Patten said the match would be “a showcase of football in Cairns”.
“We hope everybody can support it,” he said.
“It’s a fairly expensive exercise for the club, but we want to be promoting football in our region.”
Leichhardt FC’s Premier Women’s team will also play on the day, taking on Townsville club MA Olympic FC in the first game of Saturday’s double-header.
GORDONVALE