Massimo Murdocca says he got ‘sick of’ playing the Mariners, but he also believes the rivalry between the clubs is great for the game.
Massimo Murdocca says Brisbane and Central Coast can build their rivalry and reputations for years to come, as the two Hyundai A-League leaders get set to meet in a major semi-final for the second year in a row.
In 114 regular-season games over the past two seasons, the Roar and Mariners have only lost 18 games between them – seven for Brisbane and 11 for Central Coast – finishing one and two alternately.
Evidencing the gap between the two and the rest of the league, Melbourne Heart and Victory have suffered the next fewest defeats in the last two years, with 19 each.
For their dominance, the Roar have claimed two pieces of silverware – completing the Premiership-Championship double in 2010-11 -while the Mariners men secured this season’s Premiers’ Plate on Sunday, lifting the trophy for the first time since 2007-08.
The competitiveness between the sides in recent years and the incredible penalty-shootout triumph to Brisbane in last season’s decider has established a rivalry as fierce as any in the A-League.
And ahead of the first leg of their major semi-final at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, Murdocca was expecting another torrid chapter in the saga.
“We played (Central Coast) so many times last year I got sick of them in the end,” he said.
“It would be nice to play someone else in the grand final, but if it’s Central Coast again we will have (continued) a special rivalry that can go on and on for years.”
“We are proud of (winning the grand final in 2010-11) and another bit of history is to win two championships in a row – hopefully we get there.”
In 2010-11 Brisbane won the two-leg semi 4-2 on aggregate, but the closeness between the two was shown in the season decider, with the Roar taking the shootout victory only after Erik Paartalu equalised in the final minute of extra time.
The big defensive midfielder said that he relished the intensity of a clash with the Mariners, but was hoping for a more decisive result this time around.
“It was a pretty miraculous finish (last season) but finishing the game off in normal time would be preferred this time round though,” Paartalu said.
“I love playing against the Mariners, they are a team that likes to come out and play football not just sit back and defend … it makes for a free flowing game of football.”
