Paul Reid is adamant. He has a side good enough to win the grand final. And they are ready to prove it.
Rockdale City will travel to Lilys Football Centre to take on Blacktown City in their NPL 1 preliminary final on Sunday looking to take the next step towards winning the club’s first NPL title.
The Suns, who finished third in the club championship, have earned themselves a safety net with their third-placed finish in first grade. A win against Blacktown would see them advance to a grand final qualifier against premiers APIA Leichhardt while a loss would see them take on the winner of the fourth against fifth elimination final between Manly United and Sydney Olympic.
Rockdale player-coach Reid told the Leader his side was ready to bring silverware back to the Ilinden Sports Centre.
“At the start of the year [assistant coach] Matt [Ribarovski] and I spoke to the players and said we have a team that can win this league,” he said.
“We had a good team last year and probably should have done better. But we’ve got an even stronger team this year and from the start of the season the boys were focused to go on and win it.
“I said after the game yesterday we shouldn’t fear anyone. Our aim is to win the grand final this year.”
Rockdale will be without defender Steven Hesketh who was sent off in the Suns’ final round draw with APIA and influential midfielder Aleks Canak who will miss two matches after picking up his eighth booking of the season. But Rockdale could be boosted by the return of winger Toufic Alameddine from a calf problem.
Rockdale’s under-18s team, who finished second, will take on Sydney United in their preliminary final before the first grade clash.
Blacktown hammered Rockdale 4-0 when the sides met in round nine but the Suns showed they had learnt their lessons from that defeat, securing a 1-1 draw three weeks ago.
Reid hinted Rockdale would play in a similar fashion on Sunday.
“I thought after we played them the first time ‘how did we lose 4-0?’” Reid said.
“We could have been 2-0 up before they scored and they got us on the break a few times. We changed our ways when we played them [in round 20]. They’re dangerous themselves and we didn’t go all out at them, we played with a shape and a structure.
“I did a bit of homework after they beat us and found the best way wasn’t to play defensively but to play smarter. Don’t leave ourselves exposed all over the park, play tight between the lines.
“Our aim is to beat Blacktown and play APIA the following week to give us that chance to go straight to the grand final. I’ve been asked who I’d prefer to play but to be honest if you’re going to win you’re going to have to play and beat them both anyway.
“I think teams will be thinking we’re a real dark horse. We have the calibre of players to go on and win it. It’s all to play for.”
