The Newcastle Jets most-capped female player is hopeful the A-League Women’s (ALW) underdogs can create more history.

Cassidy Davis, who broke the club record for appearances in 2023/24, will lead her side into the Hunter-based organisation’s semi-final – a two-leg showdown – against Melbourne City this weekend.

Rank outsiders at the start of the season, Newcastle’s now a mere 180 minutes from a possible berth in the decider.

And, the Jets have the luxury of hosting the opening match at the Maitland Regional Sportsground on Sunday 21 April, with the two teams facing off again seven days later at AAMI Park.

“We’ve never won a women’s title before, so that’s driving us,” Davis said.

“Newcastle contested the semis in its maiden year of the W-League, I believe, and Tash Pryor and I played in the semis for the club back in 2017/18.

“That was 1 v 4 and 2 v 3, with the losers bowing out, so this format is a different set-up due to the two-leg series.

“But, I think history is a great thing.

“And, if we can prevail over Melbourne, we’re closer to achieving that.

“We’ve already notched up a few records, with an 8-0 result against Adelaide and winning three matches on the trot.

“They are little things, however it’s part of the journey.

“City is probably the hardest side to play but I don’t think they like playing us because we try and play football… just like they do.

“So, it’s going to be great.

“I’ve heard they’ve already sold more than 4,000 tickets for the match in Maitland, which is fantastic.

“Playing here first allows us to set the tone for the series.

“Plus, we travelled last week, so we’re home, there’s a buzz around the region and we’re likely to attract an awesome crowd.

“So, I feel it’ll be massive.

If it wasn’t for that mentality and if we had stopped and sooked about things, it might be a different story.

Cassidy Davis

“Some of the girls probably won’t really realise what it’s going to be like until they step on the pitch or walk out for warm up and they see the crowd.

“However, they need to embrace it because these opportunities don’t come along very often.

“Trust me, I know.

“For some, it might be the only time they make the semis.

“I’m kind of lucky this is my second time… but it’s six years apart.

“So, they’ve got to enjoy the moment.

“At the end of the day, it’s a finals game – it’s all about your mentality and how you go about it.

“While tactics come into play, there are many other factors to consider as well.

“It’s about how much you really want it and how much you’re going to grind.

“That’s the way Newcastle is.

“So, if we can represent the Jets in those ways, we’ve got this.

“We set goals at the beginning of the season like everyone does and it’s been good to get here now; it’s what you play for.

“The girls have done so well to keep their bodies right and not lose focus, especially over the past few weeks.

“Sunday will be a test, however we’re more than ready for it.”

Davis conceded it was good Newcastle slipped under the radar for so long.

The Jets secured sixth place on the back of 10 victories and three draws.

“I reckon everyone’s underestimated us, however that’s great for us,” she said.

“But, I truly believe every single player has improved in some way this season.

“That’s credit to the coaches, too.

“If you look at how hard we’ve worked in pre-season, and throughout the year, we don’t really have a light week… it’s just constant.

“We’ve done gym twice a week, every week of the season.

“And, it’s never ‘we’ll go light here or rest players’.

“There are certain things you have to monitor during sessions but, as a whole group, it’s go, go, go and that’s made us fit.

“It’s also made us mentally strong and teams don’t want to play us because they know we’ll fight until the end.

“I’ll admit, it’s been a long season – the longest in the ALW – however, I think it’s helped us.

“It’s allowed us to gain a bit of momentum at the right time.

“We had a bit of patchiness from the start to probably middle of the year, where we’d win, we’d lose, we’d win, we’d lose, we’d draw, we’d lose… it was constantly up and down.

“Whereas, we’ve now won 11 of our past 14 matches.

“I believe the pressure of having to make the semis actually helped us and, for a young group, that’s surprising.

“Now, we’re just on that roll.

“At the same time, we keep building as a team every week.

“You can see in the performances, and sometimes they’re not great, but we’re still getting results.

“So, you can only imagine what will happen when we do play well.”

The Newcastle squad certainly hasn’t had it easy in 2023/24.

Original mentor Gary van Egmond departed mid-season for China, with Ryan Campbell stepping into the role; Matildas star Emily van Egmond played four games, resulting in a media circus; keeper Izzy Nino was suspended for the side’s past two matches; and there’s been plenty of speculation over the club’s future in the competition.

As captain, Davis said she was thrilled by the girls’ ability to “cop everything on the chin”.

“Resilient is the word that springs to mind,” she told the Newcastle Weekly.

“They’ve faced so many different challenges, on top of competing in the longest season.

“When you go through all these little moments, the varying training fields we’ve been at, even in the past couple of weeks, there’s so much that’s come our way.

“Look at the Melbourne City game last time, all the dramas with the heat and delays.

“Even at the weekend, the lights went out during the Western United match… honestly, the list goes on.

“However, the resilience the girls have shown, to be able to just push through and not let that stuff faze them is unbelievable.

“They don’t whinge about anything.

“Each of them just gets on with the job and whatever’s in front of them, they handle with aplomb.

“That’s come from the start and Gary (van Egmond) and Ryan (Campbell) have both worked hard on drilling that into us… being mentality strong and doing what we need to do on and off the pitch.

“I think that’s really helped us this season.

“We just go on with things and we don’t let it faze us.

“We just worry about the football job and I believe that’s proven to be our success this year.

“If it wasn’t for that mentality and if we had stopped and sooked about things, it might be a different story, because people would say we’ve had every reason to complain.

“But, we’re not like that.

“We just let people who can control those things to look after it… and it’s not us.

“So, we concentrate on our football and that’s where Ryan’s been really good.

“He just makes sure that he deals with a lot of that stuff and leaves the rest to us.

“Honestly, it’s really helped.

“So, I’m extremely proud of the girls this season and the fact we’ve for this far.

“Now, I think they’re saying: ‘why stop here, let’s keep going?’

“We’re only two good results from a grand final, so that’s a motivating factor as well.”

Gates are expected to open at the Maitland Regional Sportsground at 2pm, with kick-off at 3pm.

To purchase tickets, go to https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/aleague-women-newcastle-jets-v-melbourne-maitland-21-04-2024/event/13006089AEC2288D

Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City

Sunday 21 April – Maitland Regional Sportsground

• Newcastle Jets squad: 1. Isabel Nino, 2. Josie Wilson, 4. Natasha Prior, 6. Cassidy Davis (c), 9. MelindaJ Barbieri, 10. Libby Copus-Brown, 11. Sarina Bolden, 13. Lauren Allan, 14. Melina Ayres, 15. Alex Huynh, 18. Sophie Hoban, 22. Lorena Baumann, 23. Zoe Karipidis, 24. Milan Hammond, 25. Lara Gooch, 26. Josie Allan, 28. Emma Dundas, 30. Tiahna Robertson, 31. Lily-Rose Dunbar
• Ins: 1. Isabel Nino
• Outs: Nil
• Unavailable: 3. Claudia Cicco (injured), 7. Gema Simon (injured)

• Melbourne City squad: 2. Leia Varley, 3. Naomi Chinnama, 5. Taylor Otto, 6. Leticia Mckenna, 7. Julia Grosso, 10. Rhianna Pollicina, 11. Emina Ekic, 12. Shelby McMahon, 13. Rebekah Stott (c), 14. Laura Hughes, 15. Kiera Meyers, 16. Karly Roestbakken, 17. Hannah Wilkinson, 18. Leah Davidson, 19. Tijan McKenna, 20. Caitlin Karic, 22. Bryleeh Henry, 23. Melissa Barbieri, 24. Daniela Galic, 88. Bárbara
• Ins: 2. Leia Varley, 15. Kiera Meyers, 19. Tijan McKenna, 20. Caitlin Karic (all promoted)
• Outs: Nil
• Unavailable: 1. Sophia Varley (ankle), 9. Holly McNamara (ACL)

A-League Women’s (ALW) play-off draw

Semi-finals – Leg one

• Sunday 21 April: 3pm, Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City at Maitland Regional Sportsground
• Sunday 21 April: 5.45pm, Central Coast Mariners v Sydney FC at Industree Group Stadium

Semi-finals – Leg two

• Saturday 27 April: 3pm, Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners at Leichhardt Oval
• Sunday 28 April: 1pm, Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets at AAMI Park

Grand final

• Saturday 4 May: SF winner v SF winner

For more sports stories:

• ALW: It’s game on as Jets look to shoot down City in Maitland
• NEWRL: Seven clubs to contest inaugural women’s premiership
• ALW: Maitland rolls out welcome mat for high-flying Jets

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