The jigsaw that is Sawtell in the Coastal Premier League is steadily coming together – and perhaps most importantly, they’ve found the ‘self belief’ piece.
The building picture already looks to be captivating – and far removed from the scattered scene at season’s start.
From the blocks in 2021 Sawty were scratchy, but that was always going to be the case with such a young squad and many new faces
But those who predicted a year for them of making up the numbers have been given due cause to think again after the past fortnight.
The patches of brilliance early on morphed into a full hit out of effort against Coffs United in a thrilling 4-all draw.
“We probably should have won that game,” Sawtell wing Taj Northfield said.
Those sideline would agree – as the green machine ran riot in the first half, and all but weathered the storm in the second as the Lions threw everything at the contest.
Taj – one of the fresh faces at Toormina Oval after linking with the club off the back of a glittering North Coast NPL career – said the match showed what could be.
Confidence was gained.
“We were up against the top side of the last two years and we showed we can be contenders,” Taj said.
“In the first half against Boambee we were outplaying them too – so we can go with the bigger teams.”
At the weekend it was another move forward for Sawty as they eased past Taree 6-2.
“They (Taree) came out firing but we handled it pretty well,” the 16-year-old said.
Taj said the transition from NPL to CPL had been trouble free.
“It’s been good. The quality is still there. The physicality is stronger, but you’ve just got to play a little bit smarter and improve technically in that area,” Taj said.
Sawtell – a joy to watch and a group on the rise.
Image: Taj Northfield tears downfield against Coffs United.
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