Sydney FC’s star signing Jack Rodwell is ready to put his body on the line to reach the A-League Grand Final in Friday’s 2nd leg of the semi-final against Melbourne City.
The tie is perfectly poised at 1-1 and with the away goals rule not in play, it is a winner takes all showdown.
Whoever wins on the night will walk away with their ticket punched for the 2023 Grand Final at CommBank Stadium.
“We are going to have to go for it and leave no stone unturned,” Rodwell said.
“The Manager will take care of the tactical side of things, but as players we just know that we have to leave everything out there and do everything we can to reach the Grand Final.”
Rodwell spent much of the early part of the season on the sidelines but now has got a good number of games under his belt, and is enjoying forming the partnership with captain Alex Wilkinson.
“I’m loving playing. We’re starting to get those reps under our belt and with each game we are only going to get stronger.
“We managed to keep them quiet for majority of the game and we’ll aim to do the same again,” he said.
“We will just do it with more confidence behind us, because we know that we can do it already.”
Rodwell has only recently moved to Australia having spent the entire of his past career in England with clubs such as Manchester City, Everton and Sunderland, and he is loving the end of season format in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
“In England, obviously if you finish at the top, you win the league whereas here it is a little different. It’s new and it’s exciting.
“I love watching NBA which is all about the playoffs and it is sort of the same for us,” the number six said.
“It’s all about peaking at the right time which I feel like we have done.”
As for what the secret to peaking at the back-end of the season, Rodwell believes it is down to having the best XI available for selection.
“I feel like the Manager now has his full squad to tinker with which is important. Now we can adjust to each game as needed.
“We’ve had multiple players out this season which has held the squad back,” the Englishman added.
With the tie finely balanced, Jack Rodwell believes his side have what it takes to get the job done.
“Obviously City are the best team in the league but I feel like we are equally as dangerous as them, if not more.
“I’m quietly confident of taking the 1-1 draw into the away leg and we can take plenty of positives from the first leg,” Rodwell concluded.
If he is to keep Jamie Maclaren quiet, Rodwell must be at his best once again on Friday night and that is a battle to keep a keen eye on.
Match Details
Melbourne City v Sydney FC
Isuzu UTE A-League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
Friday 19th May 2023
AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC
Kick Off: 7:45pm AEST
Broadcast Live: Paramount+ & 10Bold
Tickets: Click Here
