Monaro Panthers chase fairytale NPL send off for their coach Frank Cachia

Cachia will step down and take a break from his coaching duties once his side's 2022 NPL season wraps up.

"A couple of weeks ago I announced to the boys that I'll be stepping down at the end of the year and taking a bit of a break," Cachia said.

"Now that it's all out in the open, we have been able to concentrate on what we've got ahead of us without any distractions.

"I think that's a good thing for us."

It isn't the first time he has stepped away from the round ball game to reset. Following a six-year tenure at Canberra Olympic, that included winning nine trophies, Cachia took a year-off before joining Monaro in 2020.

So whilst he does not know what is next, a return down the line is not off the cards. And his coaching resume means every club would come knocking.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT:

He took the Panthers from not winning any silverware in more than two decades, to claiming the Charity Shield and the Australia Cup qualifying trophy this year.

But they aren't satisfied yet, with all focus on the preliminary final against Gungahlin United on Saturday to hopefully secure a grand final berth.

Winning the major premiership would be the "cherry on top" for Cachia, and round out a fairytale season.

"We played in the first game of the season for the Charity Shield, so hopefully we're still there at the last game of the season," he said.

"It's been a massive year for the boys and the club.

"Everyone's really been enjoying our training and hopefully we've got another week of it."

On the three occasions the two sides have met this season it has been a tight scoreline. Gungahlin walked away 2-1 victors in their round two fixture but their last two meetings ended in 2-2 draws.

There is one key difference the Panthers need at Deakin Stadium this weekend: to take the lead.

Cachia said that was paramount to their plan.

"I don't think we need to do too much different than what we've been doing," he said.

"The main thing for us is to get off to a good start, in all of those games we've never actually hit the front. We've always been coming from behind.

"So hopefully we get off to a good start and get into the lead, and then see what happens after that.

"It's a matter of being a bit more switched on when we first turn up, making sure we don't need an invitation to play or an invitation to respond. Hopefully we can be a bit more proactive and see if that can take us a bit further."

Men's - Monaro Panthers v Gungahlin United, Saturday 6pm at Deakin Stadium

Women's - Canberra Croatia v Belconnen United, Sunday 5.30pm at Riverside Stadium

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: