Swinburne FC return to competitive action this weekend as they take on Watsonia Heights in Round 1 of the Australia Cup, with the visitors hosting a side that knows the competition well.

For the Burners, it’s an early-season test and a chance to measure themselves against a strong Watsonia outfit, who enter the match as clear favourites being five tiers above.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Swinburne FC (@swinburnefc)

The Tom Squared Podcast chatted to Watsy’s head coach Mick Cronin earlier in the week to discuss the upcoming match.

Mick described the Australia Cup draw as “an honour,” saying,

“I love the cup. It’s great at this time of the year you get competitive games and you move from practice games into something that matters.”

Cronin added that his side approach the competition with respect rather than expectation, explaining,

“We treat the cup as a way of getting good minutes in competitive games. How far we go, we don’t really mind,” before acknowledging the unpredictability of knockout football:

“The beauty of a cup competition… anything can happen.”

He also paid credit to Swinburne FC, noting,

“Why wouldn’t you want to come and play for Swinburne? You’ll be made to feel very welcome, have a beer afterwards, and have a really good day out.” he said with a laugh.

But cup football has a habit of throwing up surprises and Swinburne will be embracing the occasion, keen to make the most of their voluntary entry into the Cup and enjoy the challenge that awaits.

This won’t be the first time Swinburne has punched above its weight.

Who could forget our famous 2023 victory over State League 4 outfit Lyndale United, a result that sent shockwaves through the football world?

The match will take place this Saturday the 14th of February kicking off at 1pm at Greensborough College.

	Swinburne FC	Watsonia Heights
League	Metropolitan 2 South East (12th tier)	State League 4 (7th tier)
Founded	1977	1970
Coach	Matt Gleeson (Interim manager)	Mick Cronin
Club nicknames	Burners	Watsy
Club colours	Red & White	Blue, White & Red
Home Ground	Howard Dawson Reserve	Greensborough College
Instagram followers	1083	1109
Had Max Rushden on their club podcast	Yes	No
Number of junior clubs	0	40+