PORT United midfielder Josh Casey has claimed the underdog tag for his side ahead of their FFA Cup clash at Wayne Richards Park on Saturday.
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United will host Boambee Bombers in a third-round fixture that pits two sides who progressed to round six last year up against each other.
Casey joined United midway through last season on their way to a grand final qualifying loss to Macleay Valley Rangers.
He expected the Coffs Harbour side would be a difficult challenge for the Green Bloods in their first competitive hit out of 2019.
"From what I've heard they're a very good team and we're underdogs especially because we've only just started training and they would have been for the last couple of months," he said.
"Fitness wise and structure-wise they are going to be a challenge, but that doesn't mean we can't beat them."
He was looking forward to an improved 2019 campaign and attributed that to spending more time around the club adjusting to the style coach Nathan Wade wanted to play.
"It's going to be a lot better for me this season than last season because I've got the whole pre-season under my belt," he said.
"We should have done better than we did last year; the focus for us is on winning and getting our structure right," he said.
The semi-final loss to Rangers still burned in the back of the United players' minds and will provide added motivation.
"I feel like we'll go very close to winning it this year," Casey said.
"We should be winning more often, we've got the squad to."
First grade kick off is 3pm.
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