From her debut appearance for Newcastle Jets in 2013, a teenage Cassidy Davis wanted to prove herself as “a consistent and starting player” for her hometown club.
Consistent? A run of 109 consecutive appearances since suggest Davis can safely tick that particular goal off the bucket list.
The Jets co-captain now holds the A-Leagues all-time record for successive games played, jumping above former Newcastle men’s players Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Steven Ugarkovic who shared the record on 108.
Davis says two stomach bugs, a knee and ankle injury have all threatened her record A-Leagues appearance run in the past – but perhaps her closest call came this season when the 27-year old was sidelined with COVID-19.
“I remember one year I hurt my knee and I came off in a game,” Davis told KEEPUP, reflecting on her longevity in the Liberty A-League. “I wasn’t really thinking about the fact if I didn’t play, it was more what can I do to make sure I’m right to be able to perform. I had a seven-day turnaround and was lucky enough to strap it up and keep playing.
“I had an ankle injury as well which was similar, nothing that stopped me from missing too many sessions and not being medically fit to play.
“I’ve had a vomiting bug twice as well and happened to still push through and play – once this year as well.
“I had COVID this year, but our whole team had COVID at the same time which postponed games.
“So I was kind of lucky this year, with the virus and also COVID – you could say that was pretty close to stopping me from playing. But luck was on my side, and I guess everyone getting COVID helped me to not miss a game as everyone else missed one too.
“There’s been a few little moments but nothing too serious, which is good.”
Davis clocked game number 109 in a 2-0 Jets loss to Melbourne City in Victoria on Tuesday night.
Her 109th appearance running incredibly began on debut in 2013. She’s never been dropped or missed a fixture through injury since at her hometown club.
To put the feat into perspective: Davis tops the all-time leaderboard of both men’s and women’s players combined, despite having played an average of 12 games each season compared to the 20-30 on offer for each men’s player every season with expansion and finals taken into account.
Davis says she didn’t want to jinx herself by talking too much about the milestone as she crept toward it. Now that appearance 109 is in the bag, she reflects with pride on her prominent, ever-present role in the team she loves.
“I’m pretty proud to break that record alongside of two quality players… some great players Stevie and Nikolai who I know through their time at the Jets,” she said.
“It’s taken a long time to get to this. You start your career and you’re not thinking you’re going to play as many games as you can in a row and try and beat a record, it’s kind of been one of those things that’s been under the radar for such a long time.
“It’s one of those things where you just look back at the hard work you’ve done over the past nine years. There’s no real secret I don’t think, it’s purely putting in what you need to put in to be able to play.”
Davis added: “From my debut I had to earn my spot. Playing with some quality, quality players, internationals and Matildas that came into the squad. I still had to fight for that spot to be able to play.
“Newcastle is where I started so I wanted to prove myself there and prove that I was a consistent starting player. I did that for quite a few years and was happy here, enjoying playing in front of family and friends. It’s a good vibe in Newcastle, you have the whole community supporting you and stepping out onto the field for your hometown club and knowing there’s so many people there watching you and supporting your team, it’s really kept me here.
“I can’t see myself playing anywhere else, and I wanted to reach this record with Newcastle – and I’ve got there now.”
Davis and the Jets return to Newcastle on Friday night to face Brisbane Roar at No. 6 Sportsground.
No, that’s not a typo.
The City of Newcastle have changed the name of the venue from No. 2 Sportsground for the one-off occasion, to reflect the number six Davis adorns on her Jets kit.
Image credit: Newcastle Jets.
There will be a presentation for Davis prior to kick-off, and a special commemorative Cass Davis beer created by Modus Brewing at the venue.
After both equalling and toppling the appearance record in back-to-back away trips, Davis says her side’s final home game of the season presents the opportunity to celebrate her achievement with those most important to her: the friends, family and supporters who have played such a crucial role in her career to date.
“I would’ve loved to have played my 109th game at home,” she said.
“It will be great to get home and be able to celebrate that with my hometown family and friends, and all the people who have supported our team along the way. It’s going to be nice to be back home on Friday.
“Hopefully there’s a big crowd, it’s our last home game and we want nothing more than people there supporting us. It’s even better when we can hear people cheering. The more the crowd gets involved and more people get into the game, the more us girls push.
“It’s going to be nice to get home and celebrate with the people close to me.”
And as for the future?
“I definitely would like to see how far I can go. It’s a nice little challenge now – I’ll see where it takes me.”
The top five players with consecutive Liberty A-League fixtures beginning from a league debut currently stands as follows:
- Cassidy Davis: 109 (most recent game 1/3/22)
- Renee Rollason: 76 (ended 11/10/14)
- Natasha Dowie: 57 (ended 14/03/20)
- Celeste Boureille: 51 (ended 01/03/20)
- Lydia Williams: 46 (ended 28/01/12)
The top five players leading the same category in the Isuzu UTE A-League, meanwhile, stand as follows:
- Erik Paartalu: 79 (ended 10/06/21)
- James O’Shea: 58 (most recent game 11/12/21)
- Bobô: 57 (ended 28/04/18)
- Adam Le Fondre: 57 (ended 30/08/20)
- Matt Thompson: 57 (ended 26/10/07)
The top five longest A-Leagues appearance streaks regardless of when the streak began is as follows:
- Cassidy Davis: 109 (most recent game 1/3/22)
- Nikolai Topor-Stanley: 108 (ended 10/06/21)
- Steven Ugarkovic: 108 (ended 27/03/21)
- Alex Wilkinson: 98 (ended 13/03/11)
- Marianna Tabain: 96 (ended 18/12/16)
Stats collated by Andrew Howe.
