By Janakan Seemampillai
North Geelong take on Brunswick City in their 2019 NPL opener this Saturday night at Elcho Park.
The Warriors head into the season as one of the favourites for promotion out of NPL2 after an impressive 2018 campaign where they finished third.
North have had a strong pre season campaign and have retained the core of their 2018 squad which came so close to promotion.
Last year’s player of the year Ryan Opperman will be back to lead in the midfield whilst gun striker Darius Madison is ready for his second NPL season.
The Warriors have nine ex-youth players in their senior squad and 11 from Geelong overall, and with an average age of only 23 it will be a team full of exuberance and enthusiasm.
The Warriors have added some depth in the off season with the signings off Lachlan Weier, Lochie Mcgrath, Paddy Karras, Yusef Mohammed and Nick Kozdra, to name a few, who will strengthen their squad and provide strong competition for spots.
Long time Warrior Anthony Banovac is eager to get the season under way and show how hard his team have worked in the off season.
“We are looking to put into place everything we’ve been working on in pre-season,” he said. “We’ve tweaked our style slightly and accommodated in the new signings.
“We need to have a high level of concentration and belief in our own ability.”
The Warriors beat Brunswick City 2-0 at Dunstan Reserve last year before drawing 2-2 at Elcho Park in the return match. City finished eighth in 2018 only six points above last place. Banovac insists his team won’t under estimate their opposition but is confident they can get the job done.
“If we do what we do best and stick to our plan, we will provide stern opposition for any opponent,” he said. “There are things that we have ready for Brunswick in particular and will work on those in the coming week, but we will keep that in house.”
Banovac believes the Warriors will be better for the experience after last year’s successful campaign and believes his team will be a year older and wiser.
“I think the core of the squad that remained from last season have the capacity now to really make a mark in the competition,” he said. “The added chemistry now with having a year together as a young side will aid our course.
“With the new signings, each and every one bring a set of characteristics that will add value to the group.”
The Under 20’s kick off on Saturday at 2:30pm whilst the seniors kick off is 5pm at Elcho Park.
