Tara Murray
Things are going to plan for Caroline Springs George Cross in Football Victoria state league 1 north-west.
With one eye on promotion this season, the Georgies are sitting on top of the ladder.
Georgies coach Eric Vassiliadis said they had put a lot of time and resources into all elements in the club as they look to get back into the National Premier League.
“The season is looking really good so far,” he said. “There is an expectation for us to get promoted.
“We know it will be difficult for us to stay at the top. We’ve invested heavily off field, the women’s and the junior program.
“We’ve got full-time staff. We are trying to marry that success with the senior men’s team.”
Vassiliadis said his year’s squad is quite different from the one that he took over in the middle of 2019.
He said the changes were needed and he was happy with how the squad was looking.
“It’s a different squad, but one of the best squads I’ve had in 12 to 13 years of coaching.
“There’s a really good balance in the squad.”
Alex Dimond and Ryan Gauci are two of the local youngsters in them, with the club having lost another two or three players to Western United.
Vassiliadis said being in state league 1 made it hard to keep players at the club, with higher ranked teams in the area.
He said they while they were happy with where they are at, they weren’t going to rest on their laurels.
“It’s round eight of 22,” he said. “It’ll be more of the same for us.
“We understand the longer we stay up there, the target on the back gets bigger.
“We want to be the hardest working team, the fittest team.
“We’re expecting it to get harder as the season goes on.”
Promotion this season would be the first step in the club’s grand plan.
The club is one of 32 clubs which is interested in joining the National Second Division competition.
The competition would sit under the A-League, with Altona Magic, Hume City and Melbourne Knights among the other teams interested.
Vassiliadis said they definitely had some aspirations to take that step onto the national stage.
“It’s been a really interesting journey the last five to 10 years,” he said.
“Mark Sultana has a vision for the club and were we want to go. We have something like 700 participants, a fully functioning bistro and four sporting fields.
“We think we are well placed with facilities. From a performance position, we understand that there are some other strong candidates.
“We have two massive goals. Big picture is the second division, but we are focused on the here and now, and getting promoted.”
The Georgies were set to play third placed Essendon Royals on Saturday after deadline.
For the result, go to www.starweekly.com.au.
