Knights recruit ex-Roar player
THE Gold Coast Knights have pulled off arguably the biggest recruitment coup in their 41year history, with former Socceroo Mitch Nichols to join their NPL title push.
Having parted ways with ALeague club Wellington Phoenix in January, Gold Coast product Nichols has been training with the Knights over the past few weeks and has now put pen to paper for the remainder of the NPL season.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who played the last of his five international appearances in 2014, could be unleashed alongside fellow signing Shannon Brady as early as tonight’s first Glitter Strip derby against Gold Coast United at Carrara.
Knights president Adrian Puljich said while the club was delighted to have the former A-League double winner on board, they would not stand in his way if higher opportunities arose.
“(He will have) every opportunity to go back to the ALeague or abroad. He’s come back home to assess his options and he’s been training with the boys for a couple of weeks now and the opportunity has arisen to sign him up in the interim,” Puljich, who watched the Knights fall 2-1 to Peninsula Power in last weekend’s top-of-the-table encounter, said. “The Gold Coast Knights have made it very clear that we want to be challenging for the top (this season).
“That was evident against Peninsula Power last week for us and having Mitch there just takes the team, from training sessions to game days, to another level. It’s great for local football to see a local Gold Coaster go all the way up to the A-League and then return to the Gold Coast.”
Nichols has regularly been on the move since ending his six-year career with Brisbane Roar in 2013, spending time in Japan amid stints with Melbourne Victory, Perth, Western Sydney and Wellington.
The Palm Beach junior hit the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2017 when he was caught by police with cocaine, and played just seven games for the Phoenix.