The Central Coast Mariners are hoping to jump in to the top six and extinguish Newcastle’s finals hopes at the same time when the two sides clash on Saturday.
The Mariners are priced at 4/6 to finish in the top six of the A-League and can jump above Macarthur and in to the finals spots with three points against the Jets.
All to play for
A win for Nick Montgomery’s side would also pretty much end Newcastle’s faint hopes of making the top six.
There is a strong rivalry between the two sides and Mariners defender Storm Roux says there is extra motivation to go out there and get the win.
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"They're five points behind now. We got a game in hand on Macarthur so three points gets us into a top six spot," Roux told reporters ahead of the game.
"They're always fiery, it's a derby. So that on top of it is extra special and a bigger game than normal.
"It's always a good game against them, the derby and it'd probably make it extra special if we get three points and knock them out of contention and put us into the top six.”
Penha the danger
Meanwhile Roux is well aware that Daniel Penha is the main danger for the Jets and says the Mariners will be out to nullify him.
"He's without doubt one of the best players in the league. He's a dangerous player, (Beka) Mikeltadze's a good player, the way they play," he added. "We always go out to try and win the game, so we try not to worry about the opposition too much.”
