The former Wales centre, appointed chief executive at the Welsh region in the summer, has already tasted victories over Stade Francais and former holders Toulouse at Rodney Parade on the European stage.
And now Marinos reckons the 2003 Heineken Cup finalists could be the latest continental club to come a cropper in South Wales.
“Of course there is no easy games in the Heineken Cup,” said Marinos. “But we can’t be too disappointed with our pool and it doesn’t appear to be as daunting as last season.
“We had Toulouse and Stade Francais in the Heineken Cup at Rodney Parade before, and beaten them both, so it will be great to play against another giant of French rugby, Perpignan.”
And despite not qualifying for the group stages under Mike Ruddock last year, Marinos seems confident ahead of their second crack at the prize as a region.
“We obviously know a little bit about Newcastle, having played and beaten them twice in the Heineken Cup two years ago, and we have been regular opponents of Edinburgh,” he said.
“It really will be exciting to have Newcastle Falcons coming to Rodney Parade on opening night with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Matt Burke and Colin Charvis in their ranks. The sporting public in Gwent want to see the top names in the game playing at Rodney Parade and they won’t be disappointed by the quality of players who will be coming with the Falcons, Perpignan and Edinburgh.”
