Final whistle ready for 2009 NSW Super League

Twelve teams will again battle it out for this year?s honours: 2008 premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles have ascended into the TeleChoice Premier League, with Macarthur Rams and Spirit FC joining a strong Super League fold that also includes 2008 grand final winners Bossy Liverpool, last year?s finalists PCYC Parramatta, Rockdale City Suns and Granville Rage, plus St George, Northern Tigers, Sydney University, Central Coast Lightning, Mount Druitt Town Rangers and Fraser Park.
As usual, there was plenty of off-field shuffling over the summer break, including seven new coaches entering this year?s Super League fray (only three clubs kept the same coach from last year), and the 12 mentors have only managed to agree on two things: that Rockdale will be the team to beat in 2009, but that the competition remained as open as always (Liverpool?s incredible 2-1 grand final upset of Parramatta last season is testament to that fact).
The other teams tipped by the coaches to do well this year included powerhouse Parramatta, former TeleChoice Premier Leaguers Macarthur and a rejuvenated Granville outfit. Newly promoted Spirit FC was tagged as the competition?s dark horse, which could be ominous considering Liverpool was last year?s chosen equine.
ROCKDALE CITY SUNS
It came as no surprise, then, that Bossy?s grand final winning coach Mile Todorovski would be in hot demand after his incredible success with the Moorebank-based side last year, and it was Rockdale who swooped up the coaching stalwart to lead a revamped Suns outfit in 2009.
Tagged as the ?Big Bucks Club? by rival coaches, Rockdale has indeed spent plenty on securing the services of a host of top-shelf players. It won?t make them unbeatable, and it will certainly add to the pressure of them being proclaimed this year?s favourites, but it should also mean they will provide a great deal of weekly entertainment for football fans.
Understandably, Todorovski was quick to put the increased interest into perspective. He conceded the club had spent money on obtaining players for this year?s shot at reaching Premier League, but that having so many new faces also meant that they needed more time to gel.
?Rockdale is a very strong club and is trying to build up a team to match the same level of the club,? he said. ?There are many new names from last year, so we have to wait to see how good the team is.?
?We will be in the top five, for sure, maybe more, but if you ask me who the leader is at the moment, it is Melita [Parramatta]. They have been consistently good over the last few seasons? and Macarthur has Premier League experience. But football is football, which is very, very unpredictable ? you can?t tell sometimes.?
Todorovski is no stranger around Rockdale. He helped them win a Super League premiership in 2002, and missed out on a maiden Premier League finals berth on goal difference the very next year. He subsequently left the club and switched to Liverpool, where he guided them to the Super League grand final within 12 months. A disastrous 2006 at Bossy saw him leave after 15 rounds, but he returned for last year?s miracle run that resulted in a grand final victory over highly-fancied favourites Parramatta.
The super coach wouldn?t divulge any secrets to his success: ?There is no magic formula in football; it is very difficult to explain. I just try to give 100 per cent and try to take 100 per cent from every player. Sometimes it is successful, sometimes it is not. I work very hard to get the maximum from all players, but the only thing I ever promise at any club is hard work.?
Todorovski said he left Liverpool on good terms but wouldn?t be taking it easy on his former club when they next meet on the playing field. The respected football figure pointed to his hunger to win as the reason why.
?I go from Liverpool like a friend. They understood why I left,? he said. ?I feel like Bossy is still my second home, but I cannot afford to take it easy against them. Bossy have terrific spectators, the best of any club, and they are still a good side. But, when I play, I want to beat every team – even if my brother or father or my son is playing in the other side.?
?Our target this year is the Premier League, and I am optimistic. I wanted to be at Rockdale for the challenge; I know I will be sitting on the hottest bench in the league as every team wants to beat us.?
FC BOSSY LIVERPOOL
Todorovski?s exit from Liverpool left the door open for Saso ?Charlie? Boskovski, who was coaching Bossy?s under-20 side last year. The nifty midfielder has an extensive playing record, notching up seven seasons with Bankstown City, three at Melita Eagles, before finishing with Rockdale and Wollongong. He started coaching youth leagues at Bankstown about five years ago before joining Liverpool in 2005, stepping into the first grade caretaker role when Todorovski left the club 15 rounds into a troubled year.
Bossy?s playing ranks have been decimated following last year?s grand final success, with around 15 players leaving the club, most of them from the first grade first-11. Some went to Premier League, while others followed Todorovski to Rockdale. It left a huge hole at Liverpool, but Boskovski is up for the challenge.
?Nobody can have high expectations for Bossy this year, and I prefer to be the underdog than the favourite,? he said. ?But I?ve told the players that we are the defending champions, so we have to defend the crown. Every game we must play at 100 per cent. I?m not expecting to be on the top but at least the top-five. The underdog tag suits me. I want to work hard and not have the focus on us.?
?I am fortunate that the club committee is right behind my back, so they will be with me if we have to strengthen the squad mid-season. We have very loyal supporters, who do expect us to get a result from every match, but they will also be good encouragement for the team to do well.?
Boskovski held a mutual respect for the coach he replaced, but said he would take Liverpool?s games against Rockdale like any match. ?For me every game is a game to win, and I will try the same against Rockdale, I?m sure it is the same for him [Mile Todorovski]. But for Mile, the pressure is on him to perform as Rockdale and Melita [Parramatta] have the players to be the favourites, so we can try to follow them.?
PCYC PARRAMATTA EAGLES
Accepting his side would be targeted as title contenders, Parramatta coach Jason Falzon preferred to wait a while before passing such lofty expectations onto his players. The club?s success is a reason why some of his players have been headhunted by Premier League outfits. Despite the loss of three Eagles to the higher grade, Falzon was happy with their replacements and promised another good showing from Parramatta in 2009.
?I would be pretty disappointed if we didn?t make the finals, especially with the players we have and that we have also enjoyed a few good seasons at the top,? he said. ?A few players we lost through injury last year will be back for the start of the season next week, so it?s just a matter of getting the boys to work together. The players realise that this is a club that wants to be successful and they have to come here wanting to play and reap the same rewards. I?m sure they?re looking forward to the season as much as I am.?
?I would assume everybody would look at us as being a team to beat but, over the years, I?ve learned that basically they are just predictions. There?s a lot of teams with new coaches, and they would have brought in the players they wanted for this year?s competition, so you?d have to say that a lot of teams would be strong. It?s easy for them to say Parramatta is the best, but everybody will be working hard to win it.?
?[In terms of my tips] I think people should be cautious of the two new teams, Spirit and Macarthur, and I would assume St George and Granville Rage would also be in the mix. There must be a lot of teams who would think they had a disappointing season last year and would like to make the top-five this year to make up for it. The strong teams will start to show who they are after about round six, but it?s a long season, and one that won?t have many easy games.?
GRANVILLE RAGE
While new to Granville, coach Hugh McCrory is as synonymous with Sydney football as the cevapcici roll. Having successfully coached a number of sides in Super League, including a minor premiership with the Northern Tigers in 2007, McCrory has bolstered the Rage?s chances of lifting some silverware at the end of the year. He has been quite happy with Granville?s preparation for the upcoming season and is confident his side will figure in the top half of the competition.
?Personally, I think we?ll finish sixth,? he said. ?We?ll be the dark horses, but I like to take my football one week at a time. If we finish in the five, that would be great, but we?ll certainly be competitive. Overall, it?s a good side. We?ve had a good preparation, but missed out on a few games [Premier League outfits Bonnyrigg and Penrith Nepean] because of the weather. They were real important games for us, but the side has still started to come into it a bit.?
Interestingly, McCrory suggested Sydney Uni and the Tigers would figure next to Rockdale, Parramatta and Spirit FC in the finals, but he didn?t single out his old club as a game of extra importance for him this year.
?We want to win every game and don?t really care who we?ll playing,? he said. ?It doesn?t matter if it?s the Tigers or anyone, they?re just another game. The bottom line is I want to win every game. It won?t happen as, like last year, it is a very open competition, but we?ll give it a real good shake.?
?At this stage, I?m not sure what the other teams have got. Once we?re into the competition for a month, we?ll be able to see a bit clearer how it will all pan out. But you have to take into account how injuries and suspensions will play their part. We?ll see what happens.?
MACARTHUR RAMS
Macarthur coach Paul Carter will call on his association with some of the NSW?s most reputed football figures to help him guide the Rams back into the TeleChoice Premier League. The 1997 state league player of the year (with St George) also won two NSL premierships with Marconi and a Phillips Cup with Apia in the 1990s, and can also boast national representation with Australia?s under-16 side.
He heaped a tone of praise on former Rams mentor Vic Dalgleish, who he said saved the club from spiraling further down the state league pile. Carter was also dismayed with the club?s relegation from the TeleChoice Premier League last year and would love nothing more than to prove a point in Super League.
?I?ve really enjoyed my time at Macarthur,? he said. ?To be relegated on the basis of your juniors is hard to understand, but you get on with life. Every coach, and player, wants to play in the highest division you can, so that?s more than enough motivation for the club to return to the TeleChoice Premier League next year.?
?It?s probably the youngest team Macarthur has sent out onto the field, but there?s enough there to excite me. I want us to be challengers. It will be difficult for us as we will be a club everyone will want to beat. We have to accept that and get on with it. The biggest test is how quick we will gel after losing 12 players from last year. We played Rockdale last week and they thought I had fielded a reserve grade team. But it is our first grade team. We held them to a 1-1 draw, so I have enough belief we can pull it off. People will definitely be surprised by what we can do on the park.?
?Being a defender myself, the game will work off the basis of a strong defence, but I?m the type of person who likes to give the players the freedom to express themselves going forward. I hope they can respond to the way I coach as I believe too many coaches restrict a player?s natural ability, and not give them the chance to show what they can do.?
Carter said Rockdale, Granville and Parramatta were standard answers to who would win the title, but he reserved a place in the finals for the Spirit, who he said would be a surprise package this year.
NORTHERN TIGERS
New Northern Tigers chief Jason Eager steps up into first grade after guiding the club?s under-20s to minor premiership and grand final success last year. Not surprisingly he has brought four players up into the top flight with him and is quietly confident the Tigers will make their mark in 2009.
A hard working midfielder who played his juniors around the Nepean and Hills districts, Eager also played a few years in the English amateur leagues while on a working trip in the late 1990s. This will be his sixth year of coaching and he will draw upon playing stints under some of the game?s greats in [Mariners coach] Lawrie McKinna, Vic Dalgleish and Brian ?Bomber? Brown.
?There have been some changes in personnel with only eight or nine players left over from last year?s first grade squad,? he said. ?Basically it?s half a new side, so we?re still getting to know each other. I?m happy with the squad as we?ve got a blend of experienced boys, who have been there and done it before, and then some quite exciting young boys coming through, who are technically very good but just need to get some first grade experience. They will grow in confidence as we get some results.?
?Essentially we?ll go out and give ourselves a chance in every game, and I expect the boys to want to be there at semi-final time,? Eager said. ?If we get consistent results, there?s no reason why we can?t be around in September with the likes of Parramatta, who will be up there again as [coach Jason] Falzon is sure to have those guys pumped up, and Rockdale will be very, very strong – those two are the standouts without seeing any of them play.?
GHFA SPIRIT FC
Former NSL player Jason Van Blerk is excited at the prospects of leading a promoted Spirit FC side in this year?s Super League championship. He has been a coaching assistant at the Macquarie Park-based club for the past two years, including involvement in last year?s amazing run, which saw Spirit FC finish first in division one, and daylight second.
A product of the A.P.I.A.-Leichhardt Tigers club during the golden ?80s, Van Blerk, who has played most positions on the park, was also accepted into the AIS in Canberra during his football journey. It?s his first tilt in charge of a first grade side, but doesn?t believe he will have to bring his players back down from last year?s high.
?It?s been a good transition into Super League for the club so far,? he said. ?We?ve retained most of the players from the last couple of years, so the team is quite strong with not many new faces. They are the players we know, and it?s always good to stick to what you know.?
?I don?t have to bring them [the players] back down to earth. It?s a new challenge and some of the boys have played at this level before. We would like to win it, and I think we have the side to do it. Finishing first is the perfect motivation to keep them focused.?
?I have to say PCYC [Parramatta] and Granville Rage will be up there, maybe Bossy as well,? Van Blerk said. ?I hear Rockdale have recruited quite well. It is going to be a hard competition, and a good competition, and we feel we will make the league stronger.?
ST GEORGE FC
St George coach Nick Orlic needs little introduction. The football journeyman played his juniors at Sydney United before joining Stanmore first grade at the age of 18. Then it was off to Canterbury and Melita for a couple of seasons before Sydney Olympic recruited him into their plans. Orlic played at South Melbourne for five years before returning for stints at Parramatta Power, St George and Rockdale.
?I gave the game away five years ago, but realised I love it too much,? he said. ?I have to be around it as it makes me happy. I started coaching at San Souci a couple of years ago to see if I enjoyed it. We did quite well and won a couple of titles, and I?ve just continued with it from there.?
Now at St George, Orlic said he brought in several players who I thought could make the grade. He is fielding a young team, which has two facets ? that ?on any given day they can produce something fantastic, and then the next week nothing. I need to find that balance. If I can get into their heads that they need to work on certain aspects in their games, we?ll do okay. At the end of the day it?s all about their attitudes and giving the playing commitment that we look for at St George.?
?I think it will take some time, and I hope we can get it together, but all 12 teams in the competition will think they can win it. I haven?t set a goal yet, we?ll do that over the next few days. I?ve asked the players what their personal goals as individuals are and have told them what I expect from them. I want them to enjoy their football and understand what we require them to do from a club perspective. I also want to develop the young players because they are the future for St George,? Orlic said.
?I know [Socceroo great] Alex Tobin quite well, and Lawrie McKinna was my coach at the Power, and we talked about it a lot at Parramatta. The future is the key. If their attitudes are good and they are willing to learn, then the players will do well and the club will do well. I feel privileged to be here. I remember watching St George play many moons ago. It?s a good club and I?d love to help them progress into Premier League.?
When asked for his tips for the Super League, Orlic remained neutral. ?I?m the worst tipster in the world, so I?ll sit on the fence on this one. At this level, anyone can do well on their day. It?s a long season.?
SYDNEY UNIVERSITY
Sydney Uni coach John Caruana didn?t want to reveal how many years his association with football covered save to say he once played for Polonia ?back in the day?, and Auburn United in the Super League. One thing that speaks for itself, however, is his love for the round ball game. Rising through the junior ranks at Hajduk Wanderers, Caruana broke into coaching at Penrith Nepean in 2002, going on to win a title with Bankstown City as an assistant coach the very next year.
Work commitments as a wholesale importer took him away from the game last year before Sydney Uni sent him an SOS in the last nine rounds of 2008. Uni smashed it in the closing rounds, upsetting several teams only to narrowly miss out on an unlikely finals berth.
?Uni approached me, so I had a look at them and saw an opportunity to work with some good kids. We really snuck in under the radar at the end of last year. They?re still a young side, but the boys really responded last year, and that was a big factor for me to stay. I?ve kept all the young kids, a few of the senior players left, but I replaced them with some good players, mostly uni students.?
?I?m hoping for a positive season, but the first aim will be to avoid relegation and work on cementing a spot in Super League. This year I?ve had the opportunity to have a full pre-season with the side, and I have changed our style of play ? it?s more an attacking style now. We will hold the ball up when we can, and attack on the break.?
Caruana, who said he learnt plenty from his playing days under Wayne Farnsworth at Mount Druitt, couldn?t look past Rockdale and Parramatta as the two teams most likely to contest the grand final, and he also gave Granville a good chance ?if they can click. Spirit FC will be a real dark horse. They have been together for a long time and are a very experienced side.?
CENTRAL COAST LIGHTNING
There?s a fresh face at the helm of Central Coast, with former Macarthur junior Peter Preston taking over the reins from popular John McLafferty, who has moved into the role as the Mariners head coach of youth academies in Sydney and the Central Coast.
Preston admitted he had a conservative style of coaching with a view of playing football at both ends of the park. He was looking to consolidate the club?s Super League position in 2009 and carry on his predecessor?s determination to develop players into senior football.
?I?m very good friends with John and played under him for a few years,? Preston said. ?I hope I can continue on with the good job he has done at the club. His efforts have certainly allowed me to come in with smooth running so far, so I?ve been fortunate in that regards.?
?I?ll play plenty of attackers this year, but our style will be based around a strong midfield game. I like them to pass the ball and play a little bit of football. We?ll take our chances and might surprise a few teams.?
Preston said he had drawn in five of Central Coast?s under-18 juniors from the club?s Super Youth League winning side, and he was looking forward to seeing how they would come along against the likes of Rockdale, Macarthur, Parramatta and Granville, who he tipped as this year?s top-four sides.
?It?s a big part of what we do up here [developing players], and if you give young players the opportunity to play senior football, then it?s possible you might also be seeing these youngsters one day playing at the highest level in Australia with the Mariners [in A-League],? he said. ?I always set out to win the comp, but it is a young side, so I?ll set some more realistic goals over the first month.
FRASER PARK
Jeff Suzor is the new face at Fraser Park FC this year, but he?s certainly well known in Australian football. A Marconi junior for 10 years, the solid sweeper/midfielder played for the Australian Joeys side that contested the 1989 under-17 world cup in Scotland, including an historic match against East Germany. He was also selected for a Young Socceroos world cup qualifier against Israel, as well as featuring in state sides from the 14?s onwards. Suzor also played Premier League at Bonnyrigg and Blacktown City, before winding down his playing career in the Super League, including a season at Macarthur.
Although this is only his second year coaching senior football (leading Blacktown Spartans to sixth place in last year?s division one competition), Suzor was in charge of several youth league sides while he played at Blacktown City under the watchful eye of respected coach Ken Schembri (who also led him on a tour of South Korea with a Premier League ?all-star? team). It?s an association that continues to this day.
?You can?t help but learn a lot from him [Schembri], and he really has helped to shape me as a coach. I still call him up for advice,? said Suzor, who pointed to money as the biggest difference in stepping up to Super League. ?It depends on what club you?re at. The big clubs in Super League can offer their players $400-$500 a week, and other clubs simply can?t match that. Fraser Park is fortunate in that they have their own clubhouse, and they own their ground, and I?ve got a good coaching staff around me. The set-up is more professional.?
?You can also see a difference in the player?s ? they are more professional in Super League. It will be a tough year, but Fraser Park has given me a chance to work with them. We kept the basis of last year?s side and have gone with a fresh, young look for this year. We don?t have much money to spend on players, but we are giving them a go. If we make the finals, we?d be ecstatic, but avoiding relegation is our first priority. A mid-table finish would be good result with these young kids.?
He selected Rockdale, Granville and Macarthur as the big three teams in 2009.
MOUNT DRUITT TOWN
Mount Druitt coach Phil Pavela is ready to shift his side?s goal up a notch this year. When the Rangers joined Super League three years ago, Pavela gave them one main target ? to consolidate their position in the league. Now that the club has staved off relegation twice, he has asked them to this year give the finals a good shot.
?We?ll approach this season in a similar way to last except that we will be targeting a semi final spot,? he said. ?It will be the aim of most coaches, but it will be a minimum one for me. This is our third year in Super League, so it?s the next step for us, definitely. We?ve consolidated our place, we?ve been close to relegation, but it has been a tight competition.?
?I am happy with what we?ve achieved so far. The club was struggling in first division when I came here, but a lot of good work by everyone at the club saw us promoted into Super League. We knew it would be tough, but we have now got ourselves into a good position. The players are pretty keen this year to gain a semi-final spot. We had a good talk at the start of the season to set out our goals for this year, and their goals were the same as mine.?
Pavela only has 4-5 new faces in the squad, which is also bigger than last year, leaving a few more weapons at his disposal. He said Parramatta had probably been the most consistent side over the last few seasons and would most probably be up there. He also believed Rockdale would be the other main challenger.
2009 SEASON STARTS
Round one of the 2009 NSW Super League kicks off this Saturday (March 14) when Macarthur travel up the highway to take on Central Coast at Pluim Park (7.30pm start), while the Parramatta versus Spirit FC clash scheduled for Melita Stadium for Sunday has been shifted to Christie Park on Saturday night (7.30pm).
On Sunday (March 15), Liverpool host Sydney Uni at Ernie Smith Reserve, Granville tackle Mount Druitt at Popondetta Park, Northern Tigers travel to Rockdale, and St George welcome Fraser Park. All first grade games begin at 3pm.
Good luck to all teams? now, let the Games begin.
-By Daniel de Nardi