GARY Phillips has a golden touch.
The Newcastle Jets women's coach proved that again when his side qualified for the first W-League semi-finals on Sunday with a 0-0 draw with Perth Glory.
The one point secured the Jets a home semi-final, to be played against Canberra United at EnergyAustralia Stadium on January 10.
The occasion will be immense for the team, but Phillips, along with assistant coach and captain Cheryl Salisbury, have the experience to guide the squad.
Phillips won National Soccer League premierships with Sydney Olympic and the Brisbane Strikers as a player in 1990 and 1997 respectively.
After the Strikers grand final win he retired to become a coach with the Queensland Academy of Sport.
His coaching resume is as exotic as it is impressive.
He coached the Tongan national side and Vietnamese team Da Nang before returning to take Sydney Olympic to a title in his first season as coach in the now defunct NSL.
Aside from the Jets, he also coaches the under-17 girls' national team and works for the NSW Institute of Sport.
The Jets are only two victories away from winning the inaugural W-League crown, and it would be an amazing achievement for Phillips.
"From a personal point of view, it would be great to win a national men's league and national women's league not many coaches have done that," Phillips said.
"But it's not about me, these girls have worked really hard, they deserve everything they get."
Finishing second on the W-League ladder with five wins, two draws and three losses is a far cry from the expectations for the side when selection trials were held in September.
The signing of Matildas Salisbury, Kate Gill, Joey Peters and Amber Neilson always meant the side would have a quality backbone, however, it has been the rapid rise of young talent such as Gema Simon, Stacey Day, Emily van Egmond and Nicole Jones that has come as a major surprise.
"We're just taking little steps each time," Phillips said.
"At the start of the season we were all-sorts, but in the back half of the season we've gotten that stability there, more experience and intensity and two clean sheets back-to-back."
There are now expectations that Newcastle's success could lead to players such as Simon, van Egmond and Day wearing Matildas colours in the near future.
"Gema, Emily and Stacey are three who come to mind straight away and Amber [Neilson] could look to consolidate her position in the Matildas," Phillips said.
"Ultimately I've said to them as individuals they want to get into the national team.
"It's still three years away, the next World Cup or Olympic Games, so there's every reason if we win the league and they're in the first 11; the national selectors can't turn a blind eye."
Simon, in particular, has been a revelation at left-back.
Her speed, fitness and classy left foot has been a magical find for Phillips.
The Hunter Sports High year 12 student was well known from her performances with the Australian Schoolgirls side, but Phillips had concerns she did not have the commitment during the selection trials to cut it with the elite women.
His opinion has made a complete U-turn.
"There were questions whether her commitment or attitude was there, but perhaps because her HSC is out of the road, she's really been focused and probably one of the first selected each week," Phillips said.
"I'm sure [Matildas coach] Tom Sermanni is aware of her, and I know they'll be looking at her for the under-20 camp, which is in January."
Phillips talks several times a week to Jets A-League coach Gary van Egmond and assistant coach Mark Jones and has used their advice during the season.
"I'm always bouncing ideas off him [van Egmond] and Mark Jones," he said.
When it comes to the January 10 semi-final, Phillips said he would also tap into the knowledge of Salisbury, Neilson, Peters and Gill and international imports Sanna Frostevall and Rebecca Smith.
"They're all contributing in their own way, and I think they feel a part of that," he said.
"All the success is from them as a group, as opposed to me as an individual I just select the team."