Since becoming the sole Central West club in the Football NSW football pyramid, Western NSW Mariners have struggled for results, the finish of 10th in 2014 and 2015 the club's best finish to date.
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Now 2019 is set to be Mariners' biggest season yet, with the bottom five positions of NSW NPL 3 now relegation places, as Football NSW looks to restructure for 2020.
With that in mind, Mariners coach Mark Rooke knows that his side will have a massive job to do in 2019, if the club wants to avoid the dreaded drop for next year into what will be NSW NPL 4.
They kick-off their new season on Saturday when they travel to Sydney to play last year's grand finalist SD Raiders at the Ernie Smith Reserve.
"Speaking to a few people already, SD have got it on their radar that they want to get promoted," Rooke said.
We've got some good footballers that have played NPL 1 and NPL 2. We've just got to make sure we can put it together.
- Mark Rooke
"It'll be a tough game in all grades, not just first grade."
Rooke said results in the first half of the season is crucial to making sure his side doesn't get stuck in a relegation dog fight.
"To be honest, it's going to be the first half of the season that'll tell our tale," he said.
"The first five or six game, it's a confidence thing with the guys and I've seen that in pre-season. Things haven't gone well in a game and they've gone missing in parts of it.
"A perfect example was our last pre-season game against Western Condors. We led 1-0 within five minutes, playing some good football. The next 40 minutes were awful and we had fallen apart, down 4-1. Then we came out in the second and score three more games to draw 4-4.
"We spoken several times about how moments in games like that which we can't let that affect us.
"It's challenging for me: it's not just the football side, but the mental side, to get the boys to believe they can do it. We've got some good footballers that have played NPL 1 and NPL 2. We've just got to make sure we can put it together."
WESTERN NSW MARINERS' FIRST SIX GAMES:
- March 9 away to SD Raiders at Ernie Smith Reserve (Moorebank)
- March 16 home to Dulwich Hill at Marjorie Jackson Field (Lithgow)
- March 23 home to Gladesville Ryde Magic at TBA
- March 30 home to Bankstown United at TBA
- March 6 home to Parramatta FC at Glen Willow (Mudgee)
- March 13 away to Stanmore Hawks at Arlington Oval (Dulwich Hill)
Mariners welcome Jack Press in 2019, who played for Bankstown City Lions in 2018.
According to Rooke, Press is a former Western junior and has played for Sutherland Sharks, Marconi Stallions, Blacktown City and Blacktown Spartans over the years.
Orange footballer Dillon Bell will also join the club after spending 2018 playing for the Lambton Jaffas in the Northern NSW NPL.
Jeremy Judge and Jack Blatch return to Mariners after spending time playing for Panorama in Bathurst District Football.
Over recent seasons, Adam Scimone and Nikki Spice have captained the club, but in 2019 Rooke will change things up slightly, planning to have a three-man leadership group featuring Josh Ward, Jackson Fuda and Spice.
Rooke said his side will favour the same 4-4-3 formation that has been used in previous season.
However, his side will adapt when needed.
"We've already spoken in pre-season about potentionally lining up with three centre backs and playing a five-man midfield," he said.
"We'll change things up depending on what teams we come up against. Depending on what they come up with, we might try and throw something out against them to be a bit different."
Rooke believes NPL 3 will be a "hotly" contested season, with the likes of Parramatta FC, who only played in NPL 1 in 2017, Bankstown City Lions, SD Raiders and Hawkesbury City looking to push for promotion.
Of the 14 teams, six teams will contest the play-offs, with the team who wins the minor premiership being promoted to NPL 2.
Mariners kick-off at 7pm.
TEAMS WHO ARE RELEGATED FROM NPL 3 IN 2019 WILL BE ASSESSED ON WHETHER THEY QUALIFY FOR NPL 4 in 2020
Assessment criteria:
- Performance
- Comparative likely contribution in the future to a high-quality elite or semi-professional competition at both youth and men’s levels
- Geographical density of NPL clubs
Other criteria to be confirmed.
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