Broadmeadow Magic captain Jeremy Wilson believes the team that plays the conditions best will be crowned champions on Saturday.
Magic will face Edgeworth FC in the NPL Men’s NNSW grand final at Magic Park looking to win its first championship since 2018.
Broadmeadow ticked off one of their big goals for 2024 when they won the premiership but they still have one more feat to secure to be crowned champions.
Wilson said he was thrilled to lead side out in a grand final for the second year in a row.
“It has been a long time coming. Magic is a club that deserves to be grand final winners,” Wilson said.
“It is awesome, that's where you want to be at the end of the year. That’s why everyone plays to get in the grand final and win the grand final.
“I think we should be up there every year contesting.
“[I’m] super proud, the boys turn up every week and give their best for each other. We give the most for each other on and off the field.”
The Magic Park playing surface is in poor condition following a season of extreme wet weather. While it is still hard and bobbly, the club have put some intensive work into the pitch for grand final day.
Wilson said that Magic would be prepared to adapt their game plan to any pitch or weather conditions in order to get over the line against the Eagles.
“I think discipline will be the key. The conditions are likely to be windy, hot and bouncy,” Wilson said.
“It will be important to play to the conditions and cut down their danger men like we have done in the past. That will be the key to us winning.
“Both teams like to play football but sometimes you just can’t and you have to work your way around it. We are good at that and we are adaptable.
“We are happy wherever the game is but it will be unreal at Magic.
“The rivalry is always there between Magic and Edgeworth. It will be a good game on Saturday.”
Magic narrowly went down 2-1 in last year’s grand final to Lambton Jaffas and have not won a championship since 2018.
Wilson is the only remaining member of that championship-winning squad and said that he was determined for his teammates to lift the trophy this year.
“Definitely there is a score to settle,” Wilson said.
“Last year we were in a bit of form at the end of the year as well but just fell one step short but this year we are in form again and are ready to go again.
“It would be very big to win. We haven’t won the grand final since 2018 and I am the only one left from that game. So it would be good for the rest of the boys to get their hands on the championship.”
Broadmeadow defeated Edgeworth 2-0 in the major semi-final before the Eagles downed Charlestown Azzurri 3-1 in the preliminary final to earn their place in the grand final.
Edgeworth veteran and captain Pat Wheeler suffered a long-term injury after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament before the finals.
Newly appointed captain Andrew Pawiak said that he was honoured to take on the role in Wheeler’s absence.
“There is a little bit more pressure being the captain,” Pawiak said.
“I have played with Patty for the last two seasons and I know what a good job he has done so I have learnt a few things off him. I have taken things that he has done and implemented them myself.
“It was big shoes to fill but it was made quite easy by observing and taking in what Pat has done.”
Few thought Edgeworth would have a chance of making the top five let alone the grand final after the Eagles started the campaign without a win from their opening five matches.
But the squad proved the critics wrong finishing the season third on the table before qualifying for the grand final.
Pawiak said that the club was thrilled to feature in their first grand final since 2020.
“We are feeling pretty excited. Edgeworth have not been in finals for quite some time now and we feel like we have got the club back to where it needs to be,” Pawiak said.
“We know it’s really big for the club and everyone involved.
“I knew that we could have turned things around.
“We knew that we had too much quality internally for us to stay where we have been. We kept believing in ourselves and playing good football.
“I am very proud of the boys and the whole playing group. It is quite a young group and it doesn’t just take 11 players to make it to the grand final, it takes the full squad so everyone has contributed.”
Pawiak said the Edgeworth squad was determined to win the championship for not just themselves but everyone involved at the club.
“It is not just the players and the coaching staff. A lot goes into a football club to make it function. Volunteers are a massive part of the club and we are grateful for what they do and all the time they spend in and around the club,” Pawiak said.
“We are not just playing for ourselves but we are playing for the whole community that has supported us as well.
“It would mean everything. A lot has gone on during the season for us. It would be massive and be a lot for everyone.
“We have always had a good backing, with everyone at the club from JDL all the way through to first grade.
“I think we should get a lot of support behind us on the weekend.”
Pawiak and Wilson will lead Edgeworth and Broadmeadow out in the fight for the championship title at Magic Park at 3pm on Saturday.
Find out all match day information for this weekend’s grand finals HERE.
