Desire and the right attitude go a long way.
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She’s a good example of how the rewards are there if you work hard and are dedicated to your sport.
- Craig Deans
They are two qualities that have made Cassidy Davis invaluable to the Newcastle Jets W-League squad.
Her sporting career started as a netballer but after changing focus to football when she was 12 the now 23-year-old is poised to become just the third player to make her 50th W-League appearance for the Jets. She joins Gema Simon and Tara Andrews.
The home-grown midfielder-cum-defender will mark the milestone in front of a home crowd when the Jets host Sydney FC at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday, but getting three points is her main focus.
“I think last year we struggled to win at home so that’s something we have to improve on,” Davis said.
“We’ve started off strong against Wanderers, so if we can get three points again this weekend it’s looking good.”
Davis signed with the Jets in 2013 and has made the most of her opportunities.
“I was a sub my first season then I was fortunate enough to get a starting spot from an injury and from there I’ve started every game, but it’s still a work in progress,” Davis said.
Last year she was “shocked” to be named Jets W-League player of the year, but it was no surprise to coach Craig Deans.
“When I came into the job I inherited the squad from the year before and wanted to give them all a chance to show me what they had,” Deans said.
“It was evident from the start that Cass had a great work ethic and had the right attitude and the right drive and desire to be the best footballer that she could be.”
She joined the Jets as a midfielder but last year found herself directing the defence at centre-back in a season where Deans said “she went to another level”.
“She’s a good example of how the rewards are there if you work hard and are dedicated to your sport,” Deans said.
“It’s important for our academy teams to have people like Cass who they can look at and see that there’s a pathway through the academy into the W-League if you do have the right attitude and work ethic and enough ability.”
The Jets showed some encouraging signs in a 2-1 win over Western Sydney last weekend.
“The good thing is we’re probably at about 60 per cent of where we hopefully will be and we still managed to get a result, so we just need to see an improvement every week,” he said.
Cortnee Vine, Sophie Nenadovic and Clare Wheeler are back from Young Matildas duties to give Deans a full complement to choose from.
The match is at 5pm.
