PREMIER LEAGUE RIVALS OUT TO END TIGERS’ DOMINANCE
THE target on the back of Edge Hill United is getting bigger by the day, but captain Josh De Nittis and his premiership-winning team are not fussed in their hunt for a fourth consecutive FNQ Premier League championship title.
The Tigers were crowned premiers two months ago, winning the league by an astonishing 19 points, as they flexed their offensive muscle week-in, week-out, in their pursuit of history.
A dream FFA Cup run to the Round of 32 allowed Edge Hill Utd to perform on the national stage, but their focus is to become the first men’s team in more than three decades to claim three straight trebles.
Standing in their way will be three teams who believe they can be the ones to halt the Tigers’ run of dominance, and it all starts with the qualifying final on Saturday night.
QUALIFYING FINAL Edge Hill Utd (1st, 49pts) v Leichhardt (2nd, 30pts) at Tiger Park.
Edge Hill United has developed a culture of success in recent seasons, in which it has swept to every piece of silverware on offer, and with that biggame experience captain Josh De Nittis is well aware of how the club is viewed by its rivals.
“The feeling is great. The boys have been together for three years now … the feeling’s great.
“We’ve been here before, hopefully we can have the same outcome and lift the bar higher.
“We know we have a big ‘x’ on our back because we’ve won the grand final the last three years and the premiership the last two years, so we know the ‘x’ is getting bigger.
“Pressure always does build when you get into the business end of the season with the semi-finals coming up. We know we’re the team to beat, so we’ll stick to our game.”
Leichhardt has built its Premier League campaign around young tal
ent, with strike duo Seamus Fowler and Declan McAlister playing beyond their years at the top of the line-up.
Experienced midfielder Alex Russell said it was young players like them who had stepped up and made the difference as the Lions roared to second after a slowish start.
“The young lads have all stepped up. We weren’t sure at the start of the year where we’d be with the young lads,” Russell said.
“We knew the quality Seamus had but Dec had a handful of games at the end of last season; he’s ended up doing superb with Seamus.
“The young lads have really stepped up and got us to the position we’re in really. These old heads have been steady, but the young lads have brought us to the position we’re in.”
Edge Hill Utd will be wary of Leichhardt’s young guns, especially given their last clash ended in a 2-2 draw, but De Nittis didn’t put his players under any more pressure.
“Everyone needs to step up,” De Nittis said. “We can’t look to one person – we need the strikers scoring goals, Kevvie and the defence keeping the balls out, we need the midfield to work … We can’t put pressure on anyone, it’s a team sport and we have to do it together.
“Leichhardt is one of the two teams to take points off us so we’ll have that in the back of our minds.
“It doesn’t matter who it is, we want to win and make it to the final as quick as possible.”
ELIMINATION FINAL
Mareeba Utd (3rd, 27pts) v Stratford (4th, 27pts) at Lindsay Australia Stadium.
Mareeba United shocked the competition on its way to the grand final last season, but the Bulls of 2021 are determined to make an even bigger impact at the business end of the FNQ Premier League season.
The Bulls fought their way into last year’s decider from third, and will look to do the same as they chase their first piece of silverware in years.
Mareeba Utd captain and centre midfielder Robert Pendenza said the season was a rollercoaster ride for the Bulls, who could have finished higher if not for a few results
“Up and down is the perfect words for it,” Pendenza said of the season.
“We’ve had players in and out … but we’re just happy we made the top four, stoked to get the home semi, and everyone knows semi-finals are different to the season so we’re going to be full guns blazing come Sunday,” Pendenza said.
“It’s down to the boys on the pitch. Mareeba has a good heritage and we want to keep it going.”
Stratford went from finishing second-last in 2020 to equal third this year, by far the league’s biggest improvers, and captain Matthew Murray said that feat was reflected in the mood among the players.
The Dolphins are very well aware of how big the stakes are on Sunday evening, with the losing team’s season coming to a tough end just two games short of the grand final, but centre back Murray said it just highlighted the importance of being switched on from the first whistle.
“It just concretes how important every game is, we really need to put in (or) there might not be another game after this,” Murray said.
“We had a big conversation with the lads (after training on Tuesday), and we’re confident we’ll show up.”