Grae Piddick

The FFA cup has quickly become the most prestigious football competition to be a part of for all the non-professional football clubs in Australia. In its short, 4 year existence, so far it has gathered huge momentum and exposure for the clubs and individuals who are good enough to qualify each year.

As a coach, I have had the pleasure of making the final 32 main draw in 3 out of the 4 seasons to date.
At this stage I have been the most successful coach in Qld when it comes to the FFACup progression-including the Brisbane Roar. While I expect the Brisbane Roar to eclipse this record at some stage, this is something that I am proud to be able to say.

In its 2014 inaugural year, my team Palm Beach Sharks qualified for the round of 32. Our first game was a trip to Sydney to play one of Australia’s most historic clubs, Hakoah Sydney City.
Hakoah was a former National League club and, interestingly, were the previous winners of a National Cup Competition in the late sixties.
We managed to win the game and played a home game at CBUS Super Stadium against Victorian outfit South Springvale.
This game was the first time a local Gold Coast team had played a competitive fixture at the venue. In front of nearly three thousand spectators we secured a tense 1-0 victory to progress to the quarter-finals where we faced A-League opponents Central Coast Mariners, again, at CBUS Stadium. Unfortunately we were unable to defeat the Mariners but playing against A-league opponents was a great experience for the team. This cup run did a fantastic job at putting Palm beach soccer club on the national stage, like it had never been before.

The following year, 2015, we managed to make it to the round of 16 where we were knocked out by A-League opponents Western Sydney Wanderers. In the preceding round of 32 matched we played against former National League powerhouses South Melbourne FC in the main TV game on Fox sports to open the 2015 competition.
In a huge upset with a depleted squad due to injuries we beat South Melbourne on penalties in what would come to be the biggest win in the clubs history and an extremely proud moment as a coach.

This victory pitted the team against Western Sydney Wanderers at CBUS where we played very well but lost two nil. In an added highlight for the game the Wanderers were the current champions of Asia at the time. That highlights the beauty of the FFA Cup where a local team has played the current champions of Asia in a competitive fixture; Probably something that may never happen again in Australia.

The third entry into the FFA cup main draw happened in 2017 and is still fresh in the mind.
Gold Coast City made it to the quarter finals for the second time and is still the only QLD team to reach the quarter finals. The round of 16 game held huge personal significance as it put my team against Moreton Bay Jets who was coached by my brother at the time. The first time brothers had coached against each other in this competition. We were lucky enough to win but were outclassed in the quarter  finals.

Overall the FFA Cup has been a fantastic addition to the Australian football calendar and it continues to get bigger and bigger. My experiences so far in this competition have been great and it only makes me more determined to qualify with the Gold Coast Knights to continue this dream run and fir the club to put itself on the national stage for everyone to see.