4 days ago
A schnitzel and words of advice: How Cooks Hill prepared for David-v-Goliath Cup battle
Words of advice from players who have plenty of big-game experience and a feed at Harrys Schnitzel was how Cooks Hill prepared for a David-versus-Goliath showdown with the Newcastle Jets in the Australia Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night.
It will be the biggest moment in the young club's history.
Cooks Hill's fairytale run in the nationwide knockout soccer competition is the stuff dreams are made of.
The inner-city club, founded in 1997, was playing third-tier football in Northern NSW a decade ago.
Now, they are set to face off with Newcastle's A-League side at No.2 Sportsground (7.30pm) for a shot at a Cup quarter-final appearance.
To say they are underdogs is a massive understatement.
The Cup giant-killers have finished ninth in NPL Northern NSW this season.
"We're going to be without the ball a lot of the time," Cooks Hill coach Chris Zoricich, who also works in the Jets youth system, said.
"Being involved with the [Jets] under 23s, I know the pace of the movement, the pace of the ball is going to be a little bit of a shock to the system compared to the week in, week out we get at NPL level.
"The sooner we can get used to that and not be overwhelmed by it, then we'll be fine."
Cooks Hill produced a stunning 2-1 upset over back-to-back NPL premiers Broadmeadow to progress to the Cup's round of 32.
A come-from-behind 3-2 victory over NPL South Australian side Adelaide Croatia in Adelaide followed.
"What we've achieved so far is fantastic, and we'll always have that," Zoricich said.
"No one can take that away from the players. But there's one more job to do, and I just want the boys to put on a really good performance so they can come off, even if the result doesn't go our way, they can come off and say, 'We gave it a bloody good go, we gave it our best shot and we didn't leave anything out there'.
"That's all you can do. At the end of the day, if our best isn't good enough then that's fine."
On Monday night, Zoricich arranged for former national league players Craig Deans, Scott Thomas and Joel Griffiths, a former Socceroo and part of the Jets' 2007-08 A-League championship-winning side, to address his squad.
"They're coming in to speak to the boys just to give them their experiences on big games and what they've been through, hopefully they'll take something from that," Zoricich told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"Then we're having a team dinner at Harrys Schnitzel. Today is more about the emotional and mental side of it, and then tomorrow will be more tactical, about how we're going to approach it and what we're going to do.
"On the day, there will be very little to say, it's up to the players then. I'm just trying to pump them up as much as possible, make them feel good and say, whatever has gone on this season, that's in the past. It doesn't really matter.
"It's a one-off game here, and anything can happen in a game of football, as we know, so we've just got to go out there and give it everything we've got."
It has been a hectic finish to the season with Australia Cup games, a backlog of midweek catch-up matches after rain wreaked havoc on the competition and a Northern NSW State Cup showdown with Weston, which Cooks Hill won on penalties on July 26.
With finals already beyond their reach heading into the NPL's final round last weekend, Zoricich rested a number of players to freshen them up for Wednesday night.
Cooks Hill's senior squad is relatively young but also includes 36-year-old club captain and defensive midfielder Daniel Clements, who along with Dan Yaxley and Alex Gillespie joined Cooks Hill in 2017 and helped the club earn promotion to NPL in 2022.
"The players are excited," Zoricich said.
"I'm telling them to soak everything up. I don't want them to have any regrets. I want them to enjoy it. I want them to enjoy the exposure that they're getting because it might not come around again for a few of them. We're just going to enjoy the occasion.
"We have a pretty young squad. The majority of them are between the 19 to 23 age group and a couple in between, and then you've got the old codger Dan Clements, who was the fittest of all of them during pre-season. He's done very well for us this season."
Clements shook off illness to produce a Herculean 90-minute effort in Adelaide three weeks ago and was relishing every minute of the club's Cup journey.
"I never expected to be playing NPL again when we stepped back to play for Cooks Hill," Clements said after the club's round-of-32 win.
"We were going to get them promoted and then sail off into the sunset, and yet, here we are.
"I honestly never thought we'd be in this position, and it really is something that's making me very happy at this late stage in my career, to be able to enjoy something like this with a great bunch of boys.
"I'm just trying to soak it in, but the excitement is through the roof. I'm really excited for the volunteers and the people behind the scenes at this club, to be able to do what we've done is fantastic, and it's given a stage for some of the younger boys as well."
Words of advice from players who have plenty of big-game experience and a feed at Harrys Schnitzel was how Cooks Hill prepared for a David-versus-Goliath showdown with the Newcastle Jets in the Australia Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night.
It will be the biggest moment in the young club's history.
Cooks Hill's fairytale run in the nationwide knockout soccer competition is the stuff dreams are made of.
The inner-city club, founded in 1997, was playing third-tier football in Northern NSW a decade ago.
Now, they are set to face off with Newcastle's A-League side at No.2 Sportsground (7.30pm) for a shot at a Cup quarter-final appearance.
To say they are underdogs is a massive understatement.
The Cup giant-killers have finished ninth in NPL Northern NSW this season.
"We're going to be without the ball a lot of the time," Cooks Hill coach Chris Zoricich, who also works in the Jets youth system, said.
"Being involved with the [Jets] under 23s, I know the pace of the movement, the pace of the ball is going to be a little bit of a shock to the system compared to the week in, week out we get at NPL level.
"The sooner we can get used to that and not be overwhelmed by it, then we'll be fine."
Cooks Hill produced a stunning 2-1 upset over back-to-back NPL premiers Broadmeadow to progress to the Cup's round of 32.
A come-from-behind 3-2 victory over NPL South Australian side Adelaide Croatia in Adelaide followed.
"What we've achieved so far is fantastic, and we'll always have that," Zoricich said.
"No one can take that away from the players. But there's one more job to do, and I just want the boys to put on a really good performance so they can come off, even if the result doesn't go our way, they can come off and say, 'We gave it a bloody good go, we gave it our best shot and we didn't leave anything out there'.
"That's all you can do. At the end of the day, if our best isn't good enough then that's fine."
On Monday night, Zoricich arranged for former national league players Craig Deans, Scott Thomas and Joel Griffiths, a former Socceroo and part of the Jets' 2007-08 A-League championship-winning side, to address his squad.
"They're coming in to speak to the boys just to give them their experiences on big games and what they've been through, hopefully they'll take something from that," Zoricich told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"Then we're having a team dinner at Harrys Schnitzel. Today is more about the emotional and mental side of it, and then tomorrow will be more tactical, about how we're going to approach it and what we're going to do.
"On the day, there will be very little to say, it's up to the players then. I'm just trying to pump them up as much as possible, make them feel good and say, whatever has gone on this season, that's in the past. It doesn't really matter.
"It's a one-off game here, and anything can happen in a game of football, as we know, so we've just got to go out there and give it everything we've got."
It has been a hectic finish to the season with Australia Cup games, a backlog of midweek catch-up matches after rain wreaked havoc on the competition and a Northern NSW State Cup showdown with Weston, which Cooks Hill won on penalties on July 26.
With finals already beyond their reach heading into the NPL's final round last weekend, Zoricich rested a number of players to freshen them up for Wednesday night.
Cooks Hill's senior squad is relatively young but also includes 36-year-old club captain and defensive midfielder Daniel Clements, who along with Dan Yaxley and Alex Gillespie joined Cooks Hill in 2017 and helped the club earn promotion to NPL in 2022.
"The players are excited," Zoricich said.
"I'm telling them to soak everything up. I don't want them to have any regrets. I want them to enjoy it. I want them to enjoy the exposure that they're getting because it might not come around again for a few of them. We're just going to enjoy the occasion.
"We have a pretty young squad. The majority of them are between the 19 to 23 age group and a couple in between, and then you've got the old codger Dan Clements, who was the fittest of all of them during pre-season. He's done very well for us this season."
Clements shook off illness to produce a Herculean 90-minute effort in Adelaide three weeks ago and was relishing every minute of the club's Cup journey.
"I never expected to be playing NPL again when we stepped back to play for Cooks Hill," Clements said after the club's round-of-32 win.
"We were going to get them promoted and then sail off into the sunset, and yet, here we are.
"I honestly never thought we'd be in this position, and it really is something that's making me very happy at this late stage in my career, to be able to enjoy something like this with a great bunch of boys.
"I'm just trying to soak it in, but the excitement is through the roof. I'm really excited for the volunteers and the people behind the scenes at this club, to be able to do what we've done is fantastic, and it's given a stage for some of the younger boys as well."
Words of advice from players who have plenty of big-game experience and a feed at Harrys Schnitzel was how Cooks Hill prepared for a David-versus-Goliath showdown with the Newcastle Jets in the Australia Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night.
It will be the biggest moment in the young club's history.
Cooks Hill's fairytale run in the nationwide knockout soccer competition is the stuff dreams are made of.
The inner-city club, founded in 1997, was playing third-tier football in Northern NSW a decade ago.
Now, they are set to face off with Newcastle's A-League side at No.2 Sportsground (7.30pm) for a shot at a Cup quarter-final appearance.
To say they are underdogs is a massive understatement.
The Cup giant-killers have finished ninth in NPL Northern NSW this season.
"We're going to be without the ball a lot of the time," Cooks Hill coach Chris Zoricich, who also works in the Jets youth system, said.
"Being involved with the [Jets] under 23s, I know the pace of the movement, the pace of the ball is going to be a little bit of a shock to the system compared to the week in, week out we get at NPL level.
"The sooner we can get used to that and not be overwhelmed by it, then we'll be fine."
Cooks Hill produced a stunning 2-1 upset over back-to-back NPL premiers Broadmeadow to progress to the Cup's round of 32.
A come-from-behind 3-2 victory over NPL South Australian side Adelaide Croatia in Adelaide followed.
"What we've achieved so far is fantastic, and we'll always have that," Zoricich said.
"No one can take that away from the players. But there's one more job to do, and I just want the boys to put on a really good performance so they can come off, even if the result doesn't go our way, they can come off and say, 'We gave it a bloody good go, we gave it our best shot and we didn't leave anything out there'.
"That's all you can do. At the end of the day, if our best isn't good enough then that's fine."
On Monday night, Zoricich arranged for former national league players Craig Deans, Scott Thomas and Joel Griffiths, a former Socceroo and part of the Jets' 2007-08 A-League championship-winning side, to address his squad.
"They're coming in to speak to the boys just to give them their experiences on big games and what they've been through, hopefully they'll take something from that," Zoricich told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"Then we're having a team dinner at Harrys Schnitzel. Today is more about the emotional and mental side of it, and then tomorrow will be more tactical, about how we're going to approach it and what we're going to do.
"On the day, there will be very little to say, it's up to the players then. I'm just trying to pump them up as much as possible, make them feel good and say, whatever has gone on this season, that's in the past. It doesn't really matter.
"It's a one-off game here, and anything can happen in a game of football, as we know, so we've just got to go out there and give it everything we've got."
It has been a hectic finish to the season with Australia Cup games, a backlog of midweek catch-up matches after rain wreaked havoc on the competition and a Northern NSW State Cup showdown with Weston, which Cooks Hill won on penalties on July 26.
With finals already beyond their reach heading into the NPL's final round last weekend, Zoricich rested a number of players to freshen them up for Wednesday night.
Cooks Hill's senior squad is relatively young but also includes 36-year-old club captain and defensive midfielder Daniel Clements, who along with Dan Yaxley and Alex Gillespie joined Cooks Hill in 2017 and helped the club earn promotion to NPL in 2022.
"The players are excited," Zoricich said.
"I'm telling them to soak everything up. I don't want them to have any regrets. I want them to enjoy it. I want them to enjoy the exposure that they're getting because it might not come around again for a few of them. We're just going to enjoy the occasion.
"We have a pretty young squad. The majority of them are between the 19 to 23 age group and a couple in between, and then you've got the old codger Dan Clements, who was the fittest of all of them during pre-season. He's done very well for us this season."
Clements shook off illness to produce a Herculean 90-minute effort in Adelaide three weeks ago and was relishing every minute of the club's Cup journey.
"I never expected to be playing NPL again when we stepped back to play for Cooks Hill," Clements said after the club's round-of-32 win.
"We were going to get them promoted and then sail off into the sunset, and yet, here we are.
"I honestly never thought we'd be in this position, and it really is something that's making me very happy at this late stage in my career, to be able to enjoy something like this with a great bunch of boys.
"I'm just trying to soak it in, but the excitement is through the roof. I'm really excited for the volunteers and the people behind the scenes at this club, to be able to do what we've done is fantastic, and it's given a stage for some of the younger boys as well."
Words of advice from players who have plenty of big-game experience and a feed at Harrys Schnitzel was how Cooks Hill prepared for a David-versus-Goliath showdown with the Newcastle Jets in the Australia Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night.
It will be the biggest moment in the young club's history.
Cooks Hill's fairytale run in the nationwide knockout soccer competition is the stuff dreams are made of.
The inner-city club, founded in 1997, was playing third-tier football in Northern NSW a decade ago.
Now, they are set to face off with Newcastle's A-League side at No.2 Sportsground (7.30pm) for a shot at a Cup quarter-final appearance.
To say they are underdogs is a massive understatement.
The Cup giant-killers have finished ninth in NPL Northern NSW this season.
"We're going to be without the ball a lot of the time," Cooks Hill coach Chris Zoricich, who also works in the Jets youth system, said.
"Being involved with the [Jets] under 23s, I know the pace of the movement, the pace of the ball is going to be a little bit of a shock to the system compared to the week in, week out we get at NPL level.
"The sooner we can get used to that and not be overwhelmed by it, then we'll be fine."
Cooks Hill produced a stunning 2-1 upset over back-to-back NPL premiers Broadmeadow to progress to the Cup's round of 32.
A come-from-behind 3-2 victory over NPL South Australian side Adelaide Croatia in Adelaide followed.
"What we've achieved so far is fantastic, and we'll always have that," Zoricich said.
"No one can take that away from the players. But there's one more job to do, and I just want the boys to put on a really good performance so they can come off, even if the result doesn't go our way, they can come off and say, 'We gave it a bloody good go, we gave it our best shot and we didn't leave anything out there'.
"That's all you can do. At the end of the day, if our best isn't good enough then that's fine."
On Monday night, Zoricich arranged for former national league players Craig Deans, Scott Thomas and Joel Griffiths, a former Socceroo and part of the Jets' 2007-08 A-League championship-winning side, to address his squad.
"They're coming in to speak to the boys just to give them their experiences on big games and what they've been through, hopefully they'll take something from that," Zoricich told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"Then we're having a team dinner at Harrys Schnitzel. Today is more about the emotional and mental side of it, and then tomorrow will be more tactical, about how we're going to approach it and what we're going to do.
"On the day, there will be very little to say, it's up to the players then. I'm just trying to pump them up as much as possible, make them feel good and say, whatever has gone on this season, that's in the past. It doesn't really matter.
"It's a one-off game here, and anything can happen in a game of football, as we know, so we've just got to go out there and give it everything we've got."
It has been a hectic finish to the season with Australia Cup games, a backlog of midweek catch-up matches after rain wreaked havoc on the competition and a Northern NSW State Cup showdown with Weston, which Cooks Hill won on penalties on July 26.
With finals already beyond their reach heading into the NPL's final round last weekend, Zoricich rested a number of players to freshen them up for Wednesday night.
Cooks Hill's senior squad is relatively young but also includes 36-year-old club captain and defensive midfielder Daniel Clements, who along with Dan Yaxley and Alex Gillespie joined Cooks Hill in 2017 and helped the club earn promotion to NPL in 2022.
"The players are excited," Zoricich said.
"I'm telling them to soak everything up. I don't want them to have any regrets. I want them to enjoy it. I want them to enjoy the exposure that they're getting because it might not come around again for a few of them. We're just going to enjoy the occasion.
"We have a pretty young squad. The majority of them are between the 19 to 23 age group and a couple in between, and then you've got the old codger Dan Clements, who was the fittest of all of them during pre-season. He's done very well for us this season."
Clements shook off illness to produce a Herculean 90-minute effort in Adelaide three weeks ago and was relishing every minute of the club's Cup journey.
"I never expected to be playing NPL again when we stepped back to play for Cooks Hill," Clements said after the club's round-of-32 win.
"We were going to get them promoted and then sail off into the sunset, and yet, here we are.
"I honestly never thought we'd be in this position, and it really is something that's making me very happy at this late stage in my career, to be able to enjoy something like this with a great bunch of boys.
"I'm just trying to soak it in, but the excitement is through the roof. I'm really excited for the volunteers and the people behind the scenes at this club, to be able to do what we've done is fantastic, and it's given a stage for some of the younger boys as well."
