Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Getty Images

Palm Beach Sharks President Peter Williamson is confident the Gold Coast club can advance to the next round of the Westfield FFA Cup tonight.

Sharks have been the stand-out team in the PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland this year, winning the Premiership and Championship double.

Williamson said he believes they can keep flying Queensland’s flag into the Quarter Finals with a win tonight against South Springvale at CBus Super Stadium.

“We’re very confident we can win through to the next round,” Williamson said.

“We will not take South Springvale lightly. Any team coming out of Victoria is going to have some good players in it, but everybody will play it for what is – a cup game with winner takes all.”

“I’m absolutely certain it will be a fantastic game and I believe we have a real chance of going through,” he added.

Williamson said the inaugural Westfield FFA Cup had taken the club’s profile to a whole new level.

“To have gotten this far in the cup, with the media exposure we have received, has just been fantastic. It makes you feel like you are doing something really worthwhile.”

He added that the success was borne of Sharks’ successful application for a PlayStation 4 National Premier Leagues licence three years ago.

“It’s been the best thing that’s happened to this club. We embraced the NPL model because it had depth and was underpinned by a junior development system and that’s been really important to us.”

“Overall, the opportunities that have been created are something that we couldn’t have envisioned if we didn’t have the NPL licence.”

Palm Beach have also taken massive strides behind the scenes, becoming the first club in Queensland to be awarded Level 2 status in FFA’s National Club Accreditation Scheme earlier this year.

“The club accreditation has been hard work but it’s made us look at our administration and how we run the club and it’s getting better all the time.”

“Next year it’s going to be even better because we are remodelling our administration and that’s through the lessons we’ve learned through the scheme.”

Williamson conceded he was slightly disappointed the match couldn’t be played at Sharks’ Mallawa Complex home ground but highlighted the benefits of playing at the former Hyundai A-League venue in nearby Robina.

“We’d really like to have played it at Mallawa but we understand the reasons why it can’t be played there,” he explained.

“The club is paying to use the stadium, but if we played at Mallawa Drive we would have to add temporary grandstands, temporary seating, and other expenses such as police and security - we would’ve had a team of thirty people helping to set up and all the work that’s associated with it.”

“This way we’ve got a fantastic stadium and the cost isn’t that different. We walk in and walk out – so what more could you want?”

“Our players and supporters will get the experience of a large stadium atmosphere and the facilities that go along with that – a flat surface in good condition, the lighting, the dressing rooms and the hospitality services.”

“Plus more of our club volunteers will actually have the ability to watch and enjoy the game,” Williamson concluded.