HUNT ON FOR THE TREBLE
Olympic aim to avenge two seasons of heartbreak
IT may not be pretty but that doesn’t matter as long as MA Olympic are standing tall at the end.
That is the message from skipper Josh Armit as the club hungers for a North Queensland treble in Cairns on Saturday.
The club has not won all three major trophies in North Queensland Football – the premiership, grand final and Crad Evans Shield – in more than a decade.
It is a fact that has played on the mind of the skipper ever since they failed to grab the opportunity two years ago.
Opposite MA Olympic at Tiger Park will be an Edge Hill United side determined to create their own slice of history by winning their thirdstraight treble.
Armit sums it up simply.
“There is a lot at stake,” he said. “To win the treble would be huge. It hasn’t been done for a long time (at our club), so I think we are really keen for that.
“It is very hard to find someone who has won a treble. There are a few boys in our training squad that have done it. They talk about how you will never forget it and it is an amazing achievement.
“I have been trying to prep the boys that we are going all that way and we have to battle it out. It might not be pretty. We are going to put in a stint, it is our last game of the year and it is a massive opportunity. We have to grind through it.”
MA Olympic had their worst fears confirmed on Thursday night when strike weapon Tony Goweid was ruled out of the Crad Evans clash with a torn ligament in his knee.
Goweid has been a crucial part of Olympic’s rise to the premiership this season and was best in the grand final win over Brothers a fortnight ago.
He has been replaced in the starting line up by Mitchell Maher moving into the midfield while Jake Perry has returned to the starting XI at left back.
The Premier League outfit is not the only MA Olympic side gunning for the treble with their Youth side flying into the fixture off a dominant season.
Led by the lethal boot of leading goalscorer Stefan Kolar (39 goals) and the iron gloves of Josh Eckford, the Youth side will go into its clash as clear favourites against Edge Hill United.
Olympic’s reserve men will also be aiming for a treble in their clash against Innisfail Cutters.
It is a major opportunity for the club, which celebrates more than 50 years on North Queensland’s football fields this year, and farewells its spiritual home at Burt St this week ahead of a move to the Murray Sports Complex next season.
“It is a big year for the club,” Armit said. “There are a lot of big things happening this year and it would be great to top it off with a treble.”