Tall Knight to aim for knockout blow
HE’S the young giant terrorising Gold Coast Premier League defences.
But Morgan Saunders insists his best is yet to come as the Gold Coast Knights continue their hectic 2018 campaign in the Club Health and Wellness Cup tonight.
Saunders, 20, has made an immediate impact after arriving from Mudgeeraba in of the off-season, bagging four goals in five Premier League games to go with matchwinning strikes in the Knights’ FFA Cup wins over Gold Coast United and SWQ Thunder.
But having undergone a knee reconstruction during his brief time with Gold Coast City in 2016, the wingerturned-striker is far from the finished product.
At 196cm, he will again be the focal point for the Knights in their cup semifinal against Palm Beach at Croatian Sports Centre at 7pm tonight.
“I’ve had no problems with my injury so I feel like I’m getting back to full fitness. I wouldn’t say I’m back to full fitness yet but I’m pretty close to where I want to be so I’m
pretty happy with it,” the Carrara resident said.
“I think in pre-season I was little bit slow but once the season started I feel like my touch has got a little bit better and my fitness as well has definitely increased. Now I get a lot more chances and I think I’m doing a lot better in terms of scoring for the team.
“(My height) definitely helps. I’m trying to get a little bit bigger, too, because I am pretty thin for my height and I don’t want to be knocked off the ball.
“I wasn’t usually a striker but over the last couple of years I actually have gone more towards a central role because with headering it’s a lot easier to score from the middle and hold players off with height.”
While the Knights have already endured a more gruelling run than their Coast rivals, Saunders said there would be no excuses against Palm Beach.
“(The extra FFA Cup games) have definitely had an impact on us but I think we’ve gone the right way about it, not to push too hard in trainings when we have a lot of games. It’s just a mental thing.
“I love cup matches myself and any sort of cup match where it’s knockout, I want to win. It doesn’t matter if it’s pre-season or during the season or the FFA Cup, if it’s knockout we want to win.”
Burleigh Heads will host Broadbeach United in the other semi-final at 7pm.