Josh Benson eyes Magic moment against former club in NPL decider

But Benson is more than happy to be in the Magic camp when the sides meet in the NPL men's grand final at Jack McLaughlan Oval on Saturday night.

The former Jets Youth player was one of several to follow coach David Tanchevski from Cooks Hill to Jaffas this year. He spent the opening nine rounds there, scoring four goals, including the late clincher in a 4-2 win over Charlestown. After the Azzurri game, he joined Magic, where he has scored four times, including a double off the bench in a 2-2 draw with Weston.

The 20-year-old striker gave Magic added depth and they climbed the ladder to fall a point short of Jaffas for the premiership.

Benson, who has former Jets junior teammates at Magic, was glad to have made the move.

"It was just a matter of where I was going to be happy playing football, because that's the reason I started playing," Benson said. "I felt I was kind of losing it [at Jaffas]. I wanted to find my happiness for football again and I definitely have.

"Me and Wellsy [Bailey Wells] have been friends for a while, me and Will [Ingram] went to school together. I knew a lot of the guys there, plus I was at Magic from 12s to 14s, before the Jets, so it was good to come back."

Like at the Jaffas, Benson's Magic stint has been a mixture of starts and cameos, including a second-half effort at midfield against Azzurri in Sunday's preliminary final. Benson, though, said he knew coach John Bennis needed a utility.

"JB said when I signed that there will be a bit of playing here and there, and I wasn't too bothered about it because he was straight up with me about it," he said.

"Ever since I came here I couldn't care what happens with me, as long as the team's doing well. When I come off the bench I just want to make an impact and work hard for the boys. Whether I'm starting or not, it doesn't really matter to me, as long as we're getting the results.

"Another big thing when I came here was just the team morale was through the roof always. Whether we win or lose, we've always got each other's back, always going for a beer with each other after the games. We're all mates."

Jaffas have had the wood on Magic this year, winning all three clashes, but Benson said the squad were confident of turning the tables.

"Results haven't gone our way against Jaffas but the way we've been playing, the results just didn't feel like they were fair," he said. "I guess that's how football is sometimes, but we're backing ourselves football-wise. They are going to come at us physically, as they do, but we're really confident."

Bennis said Benson had proven a valuable addition.

"He came in and scored some goals, which is what we needed at the time, then he covered positions," Bennis said.

"We had Bakes [Jarred Baker] out with his injury, so he was a good replacement at that time.

"Josh is a good player and one of the best finishers I've seen. It seems to have a knack for goals, an eye for goal and he positions himself well."

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