'I might move here': Socceroos head coach has a Wagga love affair

Attending the A Night of Football charity event last year, Arnold surprised attendees with an additional auction item, a training session, run by him, for their men's first grade team.

After a bidding war erupted between Tolland and Lake Albert, a deal was reached, they would split the prize.

Everything came to fruition for the clubs when Arnold arrived at Rawlings Park on Wednesday night.

"I want to see the country players," Arnold said.

"Especially in Wagga, it's always been a good sporting ground, you have talent and maybe sometimes that talent goes to different sports other than football, and it'd be great to see some of the kids come through and come join the national teams."

Coaching each side for half a shortened game, Arnold said the experience was a learning one for him as much as locals.

While national team players continue their club careers outside of the international window, Arnold is used to fleeting sessions with players.

He admitted however it's been a while since he was back at the grassroots level.

"It's a learning thing for me as well," Arnold said.

"With the Socceroos, I don't get time to train them technically, tactically I get one day, two days, physically they're already fit, so for me the biggest thing is the mental side of it.

"I think it's something for these kids these days, the mental aspect of sport is huge, but it doesn't start when you reach 20, it starts right from grassroots."

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the lucky Sharks and Wolves at the session, both clubs were buzzing ahead of Arnold's arrival.

Lake Albert co-coach Kyle Harrison said he wanted his players to soak in every second.

While top athlete and coach visits to the region are rare, it is even rarer those visits are for senior players.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for the lads," Harrison said.

"In 45-minutes, it's hard to get much out but the experience there is what they're looking forward to.

"The group chat was banging off through the week, the boys are pumped.

"It's hard for the regional players to get any notice anywhere else, but he said he is interested to see what county football has got, and I'm just keen to be a part of it."

For Tolland co-caption Charlton Zahra, the experience was one too good to turn down.

"It's so exciting, such a good opportunity, the boys are all very keen for it," Zahra said.

While Arnold's trip to town was fleeting, he didn't take a return off the cards.

In fact, he is quite smitten with the place.

"I might move here," he said.

"I've never seen the sun so bright as it was today, my eyes were watering, I'm thinking 'what is this place'.

"It's beautiful, I love the countryside, I drove down because I'm always sitting on aeroplanes and looking down at the countryside, but to drive down today was fantastic, it was beautiful."

While the agreement had Arnold committing to coach the senior sides, he arrived at Rawlings Park early to meet with junior players from both clubs.

Emphasising the importance of play and fun in youth football during his last visit to town, he was thrilled to see how the young players were moving on the field.

Speaking against professionalising too early, he sees true talent in backyard games.

"That was perfect when I turned up," he said.

"Seeing unstructured training and just seeing boys and girls playing together, not having defenders playing defenders and strikers playing strikers, they're playing all over the place, and that replicates backyard football."

Arnold carries the philosophy into his senior coaching too.

"You've got to have fun, if you're not having fun what's the use of doing it," he said.

"At the end of the day, no matter what level you're playing it at, even at the professional level, you've got to enjoy what you do.

"When you enjoy it, you give more, it's more passion you play with, and no matter what level you're at, it's something you should do."

Working with the players on ball movement through traffic, he also set up a cross-bar competition, won by 12-year-old Jack Miller.

The Tolland under 13 player has been playing since early primary school and doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon.

"I've played for five or six year," Miller said.

"I like it, I have fun.

"I like scoring, but I don't get lots of goals."

Starting their season with a draw, the Wolves came back in the dying minutes to even out the score from a penalty kick.

Proving he can mark a target even with the pressure of the Socceroos coach watching on, Miller was the last player standing.

"You line up and have to kick a ball, and try and hit the crossbar," he said.

"If you hit it, you stay in and if you miss you're out."

For his win, Arnold gave Miller a team beanie, though Miller admitted, hitting the crossbar may not help him get more goals at training.

Meanwhile, Harrison said the evening was an exciting opportunity for junior and senior clubs to mix.

he is proud to see several Lake Albert first grade players taking on coaching roles in the junior club.

"We've got some players from the top grades that go back down and coach, so it definitely gels having the seniors and the juniors around each other," he said.

"You see them come down and watch on the weekend too, it's good."

Arnold's Socceroos have already secured their position in the third round of World Cup qualifiers, but continue with second round games next month.

Their next game is against Bangladesh, away, in June, before they return to Australia to play Palestine in Perth.

Arnold said the Western Australian locals are particularly pleased to be heading home.

"We've got players that have played in grassroots and juniors there, and I know they can't wait to get back and play in front of family and friends," he said.

"So we're looking forward to that home game."