The Wagga City Wanderers might not be enjoying tremendous on-field success at a senior level but results are showing there’s plenty to like about their junior counterparts.
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Both the under 18s and under 20s Wanderers have been edging up their respective competition ladders with the former sitting an impressive fifth on the state league table.
While the seniors struggled at home in their 2-0 loss to Hurstville FC, the under 18s enjoyed a 4-1 victory over the same opposition – their sixth win of the season.
The “Baby Wanderers” also gunned down Western Condors FC in a brutal 8-1 affair the week before and held ladder-leaders Central Coast United to a 2-all draw in May.
Wagga’s under 20s haven’t excelled to the same extent but nevertheless impressed in a 4-3 win over Hurstville FC last week.
Under 18s Wanderers head coach Andrew Mason believes the positive junior results prove the representative soccer pathway is making headway in Wagga.
“I’ve been here all three years we’ve participated in this competition and it’s almost the same squad with the addition of about three or four players this year,” Mason said.
“Last year, we were getting smashed and conceding around four goals a game but we’re slowly starting to see improvements and results.”
Finals are more than a pipedream for the under 18 side but Mason won’t let his young charges get ahead of themselves.
“We’re not too focused on our game-to-game form, it’s more about playing the right style of football at the moment,” he said.
“Playing finals would be a great reward for these guys but we’re still looking at the big picture and I don’t want them to get too focused on a premiership.”
Emerging talents like Kai Watts and Riley Whiting have drawn praise from the Wanderers coaching staff, however, Mason conceded areas like Wagga would continue to rely on overseas or metropolitan talent.
Mason nevertheless stressed the value of a long-term locally oriented approach with the Wanderers.
“Personally, I think we’ll always need imports but we’re taking a long-term view with the competition here,” Mason said.
“We’ve got this core group of kids who are coming through the program and we’re not talking about playing them in seniors right away.
“Kai’s only 15 and playing really good football while Riley is only 17.
“We’re looking at 2022 and introducing those kind of players into the top level when they’re older and more experienced.”
