North Geelong Warriors are back in the NPLM for the first time since 2017, and with a host of handy recruits, they look here to stay.
The Warriors secured promotion from NPL2 after finishing one point behind top-placed Moreland City FC with 15 wins for the season.
North Geelong Head Coach Stuart Begg said making the jump to the NPL was a “pretty big” achievement for the club.
“This is something the club had been striving for over the past three to four years, it did not just happen overnight,” he said.
“It has been a long journey, but the team has earnt it.
“From the club perspective it is really good and from a personal perspective and coaching it was a prospect we spoke about at the start of the year and to achieve it the way we did, I just can’t justify it in words.
“There was a lot of preparing and a lot of effort collectively from everyone involved from the people around the club, the players, the coaches.”
On the back of a highly successful season and the likes of NPL2 Golden Boot winner Caleb Mikulic on the roster, Begg was confident his team had what it takes to compete in the NPL.
“We obviously have a group of young players coming through and we still want to blood them and make sure they are getting opportunities, that’s what we are all about,” he explained.
"We are not bringing in mercenaries and trying to get short terms success, we have got to make sure we are here for the long run.
“The young players we had coming through during our four-year journey to get to the NPL are now our senior players and there is a crop behind them and a crop behind them.
“We want to be able to live off our local talent rather than just bringing people in from the outside.”
The Club has bolstered defensive stocks with the signing of 24-year-old Charlie Fleming from Cobh Ramblers. The full-back has played several seasons in Ireland's Premier League and displayed his tenacity and work rate over the Geelong Cup weekend, not to mention, his knack for popping up in the box to score a goal.
Nelson Tshongo has made the move to North Geelong from the NPLWA with stints with Perth, Balcatta and Gwelup Croatia. 20-year-old winger Steve Fidele also joins the club after stints with Box Hill and the Melbourne Knights along with Ibrahim Mohamed from Geelong, who has NPLM experience.
"With the players that we have signed we were looking to add NPLM experience to our team and we believe we have done that," Begg explained.
"Just look at Nikola Jurkovic (St Albans) and Aden Gardner (Hume City) they have both played NPL and they will both complement the side and have fit in very nicely.
"We've also got Marvin Brauweiler who is one of our visa players (SV Breinig), he has some unbelievable experience playing at a good level in Germany and we have signed Charlie Fleming from Ireland who will add some great stability down back.
"We had to recruit for what we had lost and they have all stepped up and gelled well with the team."
North Geelong president Tom Trupkovic said the club was “certainly excited” they were able to gain promotion for 2023.
“We feel this is just reward for the hard work that’s has been happening over three, five, seven years,” he said.
“Everyone is buoyed by it, but at the same time we know it will be a challenge and hopefully that motivates us to work harder and smarter.
“We are looking to stick with the players in the squad as we certainly believe they are good enough to go on and become a force to be reckoned with, but we understand it will take time.”
Trupkovic said he felt the club was headed in the right direction with the right people involved.
“We are pleased with our coaches and the way the club is set up and structured now to produce the next generation of North Geelong Warriors,” he said.
“Stuart (Begg) along with Adrian (Bate) have both been instrumental and lots of credit needs to go to them for our success last year.”
"Our football operations department is superbly led by Josip Skoko who is still involved with the club, despite moving back to Croatia."
Trupkovic hoped the club would be capable of building on the momentum and success built throughout the 2022 season.
“It will be a tough competition and we are well aware of the level,” he explained.
“North Geelong has always gone about the football business and being the biggest club in the region and we are looking to be sustainable and hope we can stay in NPL1 for seasons to come. It means so much to our members, sponsors, and community who feel it is time that we are back up there where we feel we belong.
"We are a proud club - founded in 1967- into our 56th year of existence with a fantastic culture. We were founded by Croatian immigrants and their legacy and spirit lives on - the love for the game is like a religion to our loyal and passionate supporters and community.
"We are also now proud to be a fourth generation and multicultural inclusive club that prides itself on producing quality footballers and teams - across all ages - male and female. We welcome and our doors are always open to anybody who wants to play at the highest level or simply come watch quality football.
"We have won many titles- including the state league championship - and we continue to produce national and international footballers who play at the highest levels. We pride ourselves on being hardworking and faithful to our core values and beliefs - that is who we are - that is our culture- and we look forward to the 2023 season and future."
North Geelong is not looking to make up the numbers in 2023, but look to place as high as possible.
“Everyone says the same thing, the minute a team gets promoted they need to avoid the drop,” Begg said.
“It is the focus when you first step up, but you can’t go into the season that way.
“You must think about the best-case scenarios in what you want to achieve out of it instead of just trying to stay up.
“If we can focus on trying to push for finals or a top-eight finish much as we can and if we make it then that’s fantastic, if not and we are thereabouts then we will be very happy.
"We have a winning mentality, we look to be better every single week, to try and give that mid-table to sixth and seventh position a nudge, that's what we are aiming for."
Begg explained how crucial the first month was for his side, with a huge away clash against Bentleigh Greens to start the season.
"We are confident going into every game and every team should be," he said.
"We are realistic and we know that we are the new kids on the block, so we expect every team will be counting on a result against us.
"It doesn't matter how we prepare and play in pre-season, it is going to come down to how we play on Friday. Bentleigh Greens have been in the competition for quite some time, it's not like we are taking on a team who has been in the competition for a year or has been promoted like us.
"We know it will be a tough match, just like the 25 others this season, I mean Bentleigh finished fifth last year so we are expecting Bentleigh will be strong once again.
"We are very confident, we feel we have had a very good pre-season, and we will hopefully hold our own out there and potentially come away with a result."
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1:Bentleigh Greens v North Geelong
Round 2: North Geelong v Port Melbourne
Round 3: Altona Magic v North Geelong