Having produced the likes of past Socceroos Josip Skoko, Steve Horvat and Matthew Spiranovic as well as former Croatian international Joey Didulica, the famous Warriors’ production line of junior talent is beginning to reap major rewards with the next generation.
After the completion of five rounds of the 11 game grading phase of this year’s NPL Victoria Junior Boys’ leagues, all four Warriors’ teams remain undefeated and occupy top spot in their respective divisions.
As such, the Warriors are currently ranked the best performing Junior NPL boys’ outfit in Victoria.
The 14s, coached by Didulica, defeated Altona Magic 4-0 on the weekend to maintain their grip on top spot with four wins and a draw, the same win-draw ratio as the U18s.
Their success has not gone unnoticed.
Four members of the table topping U14s team (Didulica’s son Niko, Horvat’s son Evan and teammates, Nicholas Skorjanec and Jesse Knezevic) have been selected for an Australian Croatian U14’s Select team to tour Croatia for an upcoming international junior tournament in April.
The U15s and U16s, meanwhile, have not dropped a point with five wins from five outings, with the 15s defeating Altona 3-1 and the 16s annihilating Magic 11-1 on Sunday.
According to Warriors’ vice president and the Head of Football Operations, Josip Zilic, the incredible success at Elcho Park has not come as a surprise.
“It (the success) is a product of planning and effort mixed with pure enthusiasm and drive,” he said.
“Everything starts at the top and we’ve been blessed with some good leadership at the club that backed a strategy from the end of 2017 that outlined infrastructure, coaching and pathways as the main focus,” Zilic described the methodical approach the Warriors have adopted to its junior development strategy.
“All objectives are on track, we constantly look at how we refine as we go forward.
“We’re seeing our junior Girls and Senior women bridging pathway gaps and we’re seeing a presence from 12s and 13s at pre-NPL competitions to prepare boys for NPL and Miniroos,” explained Zilic.
According to the Warriors’ experienced youth development coach, the progressive Lara based club also has an Academy process underway which will further underline the expectations and strategies of the overall club pathway structure.
In addition to each of the JNPL Boys teams’ collective achievements, North Geelong’s sharpshooters are also outperforming their opponents.
Will Wright (U14s – 7 goals), Domenic Posterino (15s – 11 goals), Tobias Servin (16s – 13 goals) and Sonny Brimmer (18s – 8 goals) all occupy first position in the race for the top goalscorers’ awards in each of their respective divisions.
The Warriors are away to Avondale FC on Saturday (today) before fronting up for a home series against sister club St Albans Saints at Elcho Park on Monday.
