Central Coast have already made the Feb 24 grand final and booked their spot in the 2009 Asian Champions League (ACL). For Roar and Jets, it's all to play for at EnergyAustralia.

With ACL home ticket sales for a minimum of three matches, sponsorship, increased prize-money and the chance of playing in the Club World Cup, the champions league is beginning to bear financial fruit.

Add to this the monetary benefits of playing – and potentially winning – an A-League grand final in terms of corporate sponsorship, increased memberships and profile, and a figure of around $1 million is not out of the question for either the Jets or Roar.

Wing wizard Tahj Minniecon tells au.fourfourtwo.com that Roar won't be intimidated by a sellout EnergyAustralia stadium. “We're just trying to keep the pressure off ourselves this week,” he says.

“With the crowd, it goes both ways,” he says of the vocal Newcastle support. “I hope it lifts us as well. We're not too worried about them having the home crowd support. I think we've performed well enough to earn a spot in the grand final.”

As for the Mariners second leg clash last weekend, Minniecon, who turned 19 today (Wed), said the Jets weren't their usual self. “And Central Coast really stepped up.”

If the tricky Minniecon plays, he's likely to come up against Jets defender Matty Thompson. “He likes to attack a lot so there'll be a lot of defending for me. He's also pretty quick,” notes Minniecon.

But Minniecon has proved a key part of Roar's attacking strategy as the Roar look to punch another hole in the Jets' defence this Sunday.

He may not know the words to his team song (“it's just a whole lot of shouting!”) but Minniecon is hoping he's singing when he's winning in Newcastle.

Meanwhile, the Jets go into lockdown this Thursday with a closed to the media training session. Queensland are due to arrive in the Hunter on Saturday.