Bulls believe they have a strong shot at final
MAREEBA United will enter the FNQ Premier League preliminary final confident they can repeat their efforts from last year and beat Leichhardt for a place in the grand final.
In fact, coach Angelo Tatti believes his team is in an even better position than when it charged to the decider in 2020’s shortened campaign.
The Bulls eased past Stratford 4-1 in the elimination final, and will face a Lions side which endured a 120-minute epic then fell to Edge Hill United in penalties just seven nights ago.
And Tatti reckons Mareeba Utd is a better, stronger unit than when they dumped Leichhardt at the same stage last season. “I think so, yeah,” Tatti said. “We’re in a better position. “The boys are playing a lot better together. They’ve had 12 months together, and we’ve had a better run into the finals.
“We had eight or nine games unbeaten. It is a lot better than it was last year.
“We’ve had to change formation a few times, and I think that was a big part.”
Shifting former A-League midfielder Wayne Srhoj to a defensive role has helped solidify the unit at the back, while Steve Cater has been in his typically outstanding touch at striker.
And if Cater doesn’t or isn’t able to fire, Tatti can turn to Darcy McCormack, Dylan Cumming and Robert Pendenza to find the back of the net.
Leichhardt coach Karl Bennett called on his team to move on from last week’s heartbreaking loss and focus on the Bulls.
“They’ve been in good spirits at training but we had to make the pact that we’d stop talking about the Edge Hill game and focus on Mareeba,” Bennett said.
“I’ve been focused on Mareeba all week. I’m aware of it (with the players), but we don’t want to fall in the trap of talking about them when we have to beat the Bulls to get to next week.”
Bennett will likely welcome back defender Nazario Lim, who will take injured Hayden Crema’s spot in the back line, while Josh Mulla is a chance of returning to the side.