He's the man tasked with leading the Wollongong Wolves NSW National Premier Leagues premiership defence, but James Stojcevski isn't feeling any added pressure.
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The 24-year-old will lead the Wolves on to Belmore Oval for Sunday's round one clash with Sydney Olympic, Stojcevksi taking over from Justin Pasfield as captain.
The Wolves enter the season under a significant weight of expectation, with 11 other clubs determined to knock the side off their perch and fans in Wollongong and Sydney eager to see if they can back up the heroics of 2019.
Stojcevski, however, said the team's mindset remains the same as it did a year ago.
"The mood feels pretty similar to last year," Stojcevski said. "We're just excited to get out there. We don't know what to expect from our opponent, which is the same as last year, so it will be interesting to see how we go.
"We're not feeling any extra pressure, the mood feels pretty normal and relaxed in terms of what everyone's expecting us to achieve. I know if we can play as we normally play, than we'll be fine and we'll be up there again."
An attacking midfielder, Stojcevski joined the Wolves ahead of the 2019 season after moving to the Illawarra to study at the University of Wollongong.
The return to Australia came after he spent eight years playing in Germany. That period also included two appearances for the Macedonia Under 17 side.
Stojcevski has limited captaincy experience, however he impressed coach Luke Wilkshire when he led the UOW side to a silver medal at last year's Football University World Cup.
With the coach eager to develop the next crop of leaders within the club, Wilkshire expects Stojcevski to grow into the role throughout the season.
"It wasn't necessarily me that named him as captain," Wilkshire said. "I worked with the boys and in a roundabout way they pretty much picked their own captain.
"James is their leader on the field, he's well-respected, a guy who leads by example both on and off the field. His demeanour, his attitude, professionalism, that's why he's got the arm band.
"He did a fantastic job in China, he took on the role, he led by example day in, day out and I saw him grow with that UOW squad. He grew and took that leadership role on and I expect to see him do the same this season."
While the Wolves enter Sunday's clash with largely the same squad that ended a 31-year premiership drought, Sydney Olympic have totally overhauled their roster.
New coach Terry Palapanis has recruited a host of big names, including former Sydney FC star Sebastian Ryall and Portuguese product Fabio Ferreira.
Stojcevski concedes he doesn't know what to expect from this weekend's opponents, but he's confident Wollongong can secure the three points if they perform at their best.
"I'm not too sure what to expect," Stojcevski said. "They've pretty much signed 10 new players and I haven't really got to see them in pre-season. Our main objective is to focus on ourselves.
"Regardless of what happens, I know we'll always score goals. We have that quality upfront to score enough goals to win games.
"We need to focus on our defence and transition so that we can keep a clean sheet."
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Cameron Mee
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
Sports reporter at the Canberra Times
