Williamstown is hoping that 2024 is the year it can finally escape FV state league 3 north-west.
The club has been in the top four of state 3 since the 2019 season without managing promotion. However, with a new coach at the helm and a positive off season, football director Jason Drozdek said he’s hoping this year it’s Williamstown’s turn to hit state 2.
“We’ve been close for the last four or five years and every year there’s a few other clubs that make a push for it and we’ll be in the mix again,” he said.
“We’re hoping to go up but we’re going to have to rely on a little bit of luck with injuries and suspensions. If all goes well on that front we should definitely be in the mix at the top of the table again and if the cards fall our way at the end of the year, remains to be seen.”
Drozdek said having the experience of new coach Steve Iosifidis on board will only help the club’s chances.
“Culturally he fits like a glove, he just needs to get his head around all of the new faces that he’s come across,” he said.
“A few of our boys have been at the club for a while so it’ll take some time for him to get accustomed to all the boys at the club.
“But he’s been going well, he’s an experienced guy and been around the traps, he’s brought that experience and knowledge to the club and it’s pretty evident during his training sessions.”
Another thing working in the club’s favour is the minimal list turnover they have had over the offseason, with not many leaving and players arriving from higher divisions.
“We’ve retained the majority of the core squad and then we’ve added a few players in positions where we were lacking,” Drozdek said.
“We’ve brought in five or six new players, mainly who were on the fringes of clubs in higher leagues or clubs that maybe weren’t doing so well and they were starters there but are after a fresh change… no big names, a few young kids.”
Alongside preseason are the Australia Cup games the club has been a part of. In the first round Williamstown passed Lara with ease winning 4-1, over the weekend the club played Barwon again having a convincing victory, winning 3-0.
The club will face the Uni Hill Eagles on Saturday, March 9 for the round three clash.
While Drozdek said he appreciates the competition, the matches are more so being used to prepare the side for the upcoming league matches.
“We’re treating these games as preseason practice matches in preparation for the season ahead,” he said. “So we’re not reading too much into the results in the cup.”
