Werribee City Football Club president Giovanni Inserra says the senior men’s team is having “a solid pre-season” after the challenges of the past two years.
Inserra said Werribee City began its pre-season training in November 2021, before taking a break for Christmas and the New Year.
Players returned to training January 10, 2022, ahead of the NPL2 season beginning in March, 2022.
“Our preparation has been pretty good,” Inserra said.
“I think we have kept most of the great young players who we wanted to stay on from 2021.
“We have a few seniors who have stuck around too.
“I think we have recruited really well, we have brought in some really good, talented young players and some experienced players too.”
On January 27, the club announced the signing of Jordan Siamoa from Beaumaris Soccer Club.
A few days earlier, the Werribee City 2021 captain Rob Taylor committed to a second year at the club.
Daniel Petrov has also returned after spending the 2021 season with Melbourne Knights, and Alec Goodwin has signed on for his fourth season at Werribee City.
This is good news for the club, after the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
“Obviously, last year was pretty tough for anyone associated with football and all sport,” Inserra said.
“Last year we had a young squad and a new coach, and we got through it as best we could.”
Frank Petricca, who was appointed the senior men’s’ head coach in 2021, will continue in the role for 2022.
Inserra said that the Werribee City committee “respects and knows” Petricca, a former championship player at the club.
He said that in 2021, the committee had been confident in giving Petricca his first-ever opportunity to coach at a senior level, and that this confidence remains buoyant into the 2022 season.
In addition, Inserra said that prior to Christmas, the club has not been affected by COVID, but that post-New Year training had seen players needing to miss some sessions due to the virus.
Werribee City’s first match of the 2022 season will be against Langwarrin Soccer Club, in an away game on March 19.
Inserra said that hopes were high at Werribee City for a good season, after the club spent part of last year re-establishing themselves following 2020.
“If you speak to the players and the coaches, they would say every time you go play, you go to win,” he said.
In addition, Inserra said the committee was aiming for Werribee FC to make the jump from an NPL2 team to become an NPL1 team in the not-too-distant future.
“We expect to be a mid-level team this year, a competitive team, and set ourselves up to be a very competitive team in 2023,” he said.
“We do have aspirations to play in the top level.”
Inserra said the club’s senior players have just returned to training at Galvin Park after a $3.8 million upgrade of the site, funded by Wyndham council and the state government.
“We have a brand-new pavilion and clubhouse, we would like to thank everyone at Wyndham council for that as well as Werribee MP Tim Pallas for their contribution,” he said.
Inserra said the upgrade of the grounds was welcome, as Werribee City’s juniors “keep growing every year”.
The club’s junior sides include a Under-14s to Under-18s team, an Under-7s to Under-13s team and the MiniBees Academy for four to six year olds.
Details: werribeecityfc.com.au
