Knights without fear

Back-to-back GC champs stalking A-League’s Jets

THEY’VE

Coast.

Now, the Gold Coast Knights are determined to make the most of their shot at national glory in Tuesday night’s do-or-die FFA Cup clash with A-League heavyweights Newcastle Jets.

Buoyed by securing backto-back Gold Coast Premier League championships on Tuesday, the Knights will put the finishing touches on prepa- conquered the rations for arguably the biggest game in the club’s history with a training run at Robina’s Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.

Riding a five-game FFA Cup winning streak into the Round of 32 battle, they will return to Cbus at 7.30pm on Tuesday to face a Jets outfit still smarting from their 1-0 grand final loss to Melbourne Victory in May.

Knights coach Grae Piddick, whose troops secured the league title with a 2-0 win against Palm Beach, urged his players not to let slip their chance to star on the big stage.

“It’s super exciting. Obviously there’s boys who have been there before but there’s plenty of boys who haven’t so I’m really excited for them,” said Piddick, who steered Palm Beach and Gold Coast City into the cup quarter-finals in 2014 and 2017 respectively.

“We’re representing the Gold Coast. We’ve got a week to work on things and improve, and that’s why this game (against Palm Beach) has really helped us, because the intensity of the game was good.

“That’s going to help going into Newcastle.”

Having booked their Round of 32 ticket with an extra-time win against Sunshine Coast in early June, the Knights this week became the first team to win back-to-back Premier us League crowns since Burleigh in 2006-07.

Second-placed Burleigh’s 2-2 draw with Surfers left them 10 points adrift of the Knights with three rounds to play.

In Tuesday’s other games, Broadbeach United pulled level with Burleigh on 34 points with a 9-2 thumping of Murwillumbah, Nerang beat Tweed United 2-0, while Coomera edged out Mudgeeraba 2-1.