Cooks Hill coach Chris Zoricich says his first NPL men's Northern NSW season in charge will be about giving players - old and new - a fresh opportunity to prove themselves after an exodus late last year.
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The former New Zealand captain has inherited a roster missing most of last season's inaugural NPL top-grade squad after the switch of coach David Tanchevski to Lambton Jaffas.
With Tanchevski went Josh Benson, Bailey Newton, Pat Bond, Riley McNaughton, Sam Webb, Finn Todhunter, Jagger Wholert and keeper Ray Furness. Jon Griffiths also made the move but has since quit due to work commitments.
Also gone are Jacob Pepper (Edgeworth), Liam Beazley, Adam Sherratt, Jay Kitcher and Tom Smart.
To help fill the void, Cooks Hill have gained Matt Berrigan, Brock Beveridge, Alex Hilton and Harry Evans from Jaffas, along with Campbell Ross and Carter Smith from Lake Macquarie and keeper Daniel Eisenhauer from Olympic.
But mostly, Zoricich will be relying on what remains at Cooks Hill, players like Daniel Yaxley, Dan Clements, Liam Spurway, Jamie Byrnes, Lachlan Pasquale and Nick Russell, to step up this season.
"It is a bit tough coming in without really knowing the league, the players and too much about it," said Zoricich, who coached Western Springs in the top New Zealand league from 2018 to 2022.
"But we've pretty much gone with what we've got. There's a couple of ambitions along the way, and that's mainly looking for younger players that we see a future in, rather than older players just to bolster it for a season or two.
"We haven't been out heavily recruiting. This year is pretty much just to restructure the whole club with Craig [Deans] as TD and doing it through the youth system. I'll be heavily involved in that as well because that's the future of the club.
"The vision of the club is to start something and try to build from within rather than having to go buy players every season.
"That's what we are trying to achieve but it's going to be a bit of a fight to get it where we want it.
"I can't fault the players there so far, their application and effort. They've had a tough couple of seasons by the sounds of it. Other players and coaches have come in and they've been pushed aside, and now they're back in the fold.
"It's just about restarting and giving them a new lease on life as footballers, new ambitions and we'll just see how we go."
Zoricich, who has come to Australia to support his son Zac's shot with the Central Coast Mariners, said "we're under no illusions" about the task ahead.
"We're going to be a bit light," he said.
"We are not saying we're going to be a top-four club or anything like that. We're just starting again basically.
"Hopefully if we do surprise a few people, we can hopefully attract a few more players in the future."
Cooks Hill have lost trials to Edgeworth (2-1) and Charlestown Azzurri (3-2) in pre-season but Zoricich has seen promise in the side.
He has been impressed with the work of Campbell, while Eisenhauer has been strong in goals. He believed Clements would also be a crucial player with his experience in midfield.
"Campbell done superbly well for us," he said. "He's a technically gifted player and a smart player and he's definitely a player that we need and I think he'll do well."
He was also looking to Berrigan and Beveridge to fire up front
"They were goalscorers in reserve grade last season and they've been there and thereabouts for us this season, and I'm hoping for big things from both," he said.
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Craig Kerry
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
Craig Kerry is a sports reporter for the Newcastle Herald.
