Taree Wildcats will look to end a disappointing season on a high when they travel to Port Macquarie on Saturday.
The Wildcats were late additions to the inaugural Coastal Premier League, and while the results haven’t been forthcoming, coach Ben Sedlen is confident they’re moving in the right direction.
“We’ve got everything out of the league that we wanted to this year,” he said.
“We’re disappointed with the results, but it’s a three-year plan – it’s not about trying to win the comp in the first year.”
Sedlen wouldn’t label the year a rebuild and conceded the first year was about establishing the club and seeing where they were at.
“We came in really late, so for us, it was working out what it’s all about and then planning for the next two or three years.”
Victories have been few and far between for the Wildcats, however, they surprised United 1-0 when the teams last met, but suspensions will force several changes.
“We’ll be a little bit light on with suspensions from last week, but that’s our fault, and we’ve got a squad of nearly 30 players so they will have to step up,” the coach said.
“United have been a strong team in the Football Mid North Coast competition for a few years.”
United coach Nathan Wade will look to the future with 17-year-old trio Mason Moore, Ben Oakley and Lachie Walker all set to retain their spots.
“The young kids have stepped up and taken their chances, but the main thing is hitting the back of the net which is our biggest problem at the moment,” he said.
With only two matches remaining in the season the focus for Wade was on who would progress into the top squad in 2021.
He wants his team to finish on the right note.
“Trying to get a win at home is the main focus, and we’ve kind of turned a corner, so we don’t want to take a step backwards now,” he said.
“As the season has progressed we’ve steadily got better.”
In the other match, Port Saints will travel to Kempsey while Macleay Valley has the bye.
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