RIVALS CLASH IN BIG DANCE
EDGE Hill United and Leichhardt will enter the FNQ Premier League grand final with two very different goals and backgrounds.
On one side is the team that has dominated football in North Queensland for the past few years.
A win on Saturday night would deliver Edge Hill Utd a fourth consecutive premiership, and keep alive their dream of being among the only clubs to have won three straight trebles.
They reached the FFA Cup’s Round of 32, and have barely lost a game in the past three years.
That experience will come in handy when they walk to the centre of Endeavour Park’s main field, according to goalscoring right back Ryan Murray, who could win an eighth straight trophy for Edge Hill Utd if they get the job done.
“It never gets old,” Murray said. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like being part of big days. That’s why you play football – big crowds, big days, big moments. I don’t think anyone would get bored of these games.
“The more experience you have helps out for sure. You have to control your emotions, you still have to prepare the same way you would for any other game. The experience will help, but we need to make sure we turn up on the day.
“It's the fourth grand final in a row. I love them. It’s why I play football – you want to be part of them. It’s a big day, and you can’t downplay it at all.”
The Tigers finished the season an astonishing 19 points clear of Leichhardt, winning twice as many games as the Lions and scoring 83 goals in 18 league games.
Player-coach Crios O’Hare has 37 goals to his name as the clear golden boot winner, the veteran striker outscoring three other Premier League clubs himself.
They have experience across the park, with plenty of key players having previously played in the NPL, but they still need to be ready to fire when that first whistle sounds.
“Whoever you play against, you should have the same attitude, but for sure, Leichhardt definitely are the second best team in the league, the league proved that, they’ve done well in their games this year,” Murray said.
“They are a better team this year than they were last year, the balance is more dangerous. They’re playing players more suited to the position rather than trying to fit nine centre midfielders in one team. They’re a more dangerous outfit this season.”
Leichhardt has not made a Premier League grand final since a loss to Douglas United in 2012.
Members can’t remember the last time the Premier men’s team won the premiership, though the players wearing red and black have won numerous titles – and at least one treble – in the younger grades.
The last time Leichhardt beat Edge Hill Utd was in 2019, when they dumped the Tigers from the FFA Cup.
The Lions’ last Premier League win against Edge Hill Utd came in 2018, when they bested their Manunda rivals on two occasions.
For captain Josh Mulla, who has been a Lion his entire life, it will be a mix of excitement and anticipation as he leads his childhood club to its first decider in almost a decade.
He is one of several players to have won a treble at youth level, but that success has yet to translate to the senior grade – until now.
“I’ve played at this club forever, since I was five, so it would mean a lot to lift that trophy,” Mulla said.
“With all my mates I’ve played with for all the years, to finally have success in Prems would be great.
“It’s the first time in a while the
club has made a grand final in Premiers, and for most of us, it’s our first Prems final.
“It would’ve been under-16s possibly, or even youth was my last. So it was a while – six years maybe? We got the youth treble a few years ago.”
Mulla said his team took plenty of confidence out of their qualifying final loss to the Tigers, when they drew 3-3 at fulltime, 4-4 after extra time, but fell in penalties. He said that result proved the Lions could match the best Edge Hill Utd threw at them.
“We can take a lot out of it,” Mulla said. “We know we can match them,
we can compete. We’ve got two draws; hopefully we can go one further this time and beat them.
“We had to, to get ready for Mareeba. We didn’t start the greatest. We got back out there in the second half, two goals came and we were comfortable enough to hold on.”