Newcastle Olympic skipper leading the way for coach Joel Griffiths

And key midfielder Rhys Cooper was central to that goal.

Cooper has stepped up as captain this season in the absence of injured defender Kyle Hodges and been one of their best in a strong start to Griffiths' tenure.

Olympic have won their past three games, beating Edgeworth, Lake Macquarie and Lambton Jaffas, to be fifth on 12 points. They also have a game in hand after the lightning failure at Lisle Carr Oval last Sunday wiped out their match against Azzurri at half-time.

The experienced Hodges and Jacob Bailey remain sidelined but Griffiths has been impressed with the depth and young talent in Olympic's ranks who have filled the void. And he has been especially pleased with the work of Cooper.

"I think our skipper is doing really, really well and he's leading the group," Griffiths said. "I feel like he's a lot fitter than last year, which is what I wanted.

"I looked at probably the last eight games of last season and the big thing I felt was we weren't as fit as the better teams.

"And Rhys was one of them. I thought he probably wasn't as mobile in terms of getting back and forth and pressing. Now he's on auto-pilot.

"And I'm giving a free role as well and I think he's appreciating that. When he goes forward, he's free to express himself with the front line."

Cooper will be a key man again when Olympic host Weston (nine points) on Saturday at Darling Street Oval in round eight.

The Bears have lost their past two games, after upsetting Maitland. Griffiths said Olympic needed to stay grounded against "a very dangerous team".

"Weston are probably one of the better football teams that I've watched in the league," he said. "They like to have build-up play and I think they've been really unlucky, in the games I've seen, not to get anything out of it.

"They will be a good challenge for us. Even though they've lost their last two, they are a team who can play and we have to be at our best to beat these teams.

"Everyone expects us to win now because we've won a few games in a row, so this is one of the tougher games - when you're expected to win.

"Against the Edgeworths and Lambtons, when you're expected to lose, there's no pressure on you to perform. Against the Westons, Charlestowns, Valentines and Adamstowns, you are expected to win.

"But we're doing OK."

Weston will have defender Zac Sneddon back in the selection mix after he returned from injury in reserve grade last week. Cooper Buswell remains sidelined, while veteran defender Robbie Turnbull has left the club.

Also on Saturday, Lake Macquarie host last-placed Valentine. On Sunday, Adamstown travel to Edgeworth and Charlestown are at home against Jaffas.

Maitland scored an 84th-minute equaliser against Broadmeadow on Friday night at Cooks Square Park in a 1-1 draw to stay on top of the ladder.

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