The desire to return to professional football has fuelled Josh Macdonald's decision to join the Wollongong Wolves.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The attacker has experienced an eventual few years since he last played for the club in 2018, enjoying stints at the Central Coast Mariners, Sydney United 58 and Wollongong Olympic.
A planned move overseas was scuttled due to coronavirus, with the 25-year-old instead hoping to return to the A-League in the future.
While his time in Gosford didn't go to plan, Macdonald feels he's good enough to play in the competition.
"If I'm switched on and fully focused, I'm good enough," Macdonald said.
"There's been self-doubt in my head, but that was due to personal decisions. If I'm focused on football, I have no doubt I'm good enough.
"Playing professionally again was very close to happening until coronavirus put it on the back foot again. It's still a dream, a goal, so I'm not giving up just yet.
"Joining the Wolves is a step in the right direction, hopefully Luke (Wilkshire) will help me get back to where I want to be."
Macdonald featured in a star-studded Olympic squad that led the Illawarra Premier League when the competition season was abandoned due to COVID.
The idea of returning to win the title in 2022 was enticing, but Macdonald knows he needs to be playing in the NSW National Premier Leagues if he wants to return to the professional ranks.
"I was close to returning to Olympic. I enjoyed my year, I took a step back from the professional side and it was really refreshing for me.
"I had to make a decision whether I wanted to pursue football or just enjoy it. I decided to pursue it, now I'm working hard with Luke to make the most of it."
Macdonald is joined by fellow Wolves junior Peter Simonoski in returning to the club and bolstering the team's attacking firepower.
Wollongong have struggled in front of goal at times throughout the past two seasons.
While Macdonald is a creator, Simonoski is one of the best finishers in the NSW NPL and he's determined to retain that title in 2022.
"As a striker, you always set your goals pretty high," Simonoski said. "Hopefully I can score a few goals, over 10 would be good. With the quality of player we have here, I'm sure that's possible.
"It will also be good to win a premiership. We've got the players to be up the top challenging week in, week out."
Wolves coach Luke Wilkshire is in the process of overhauling the roster after a sub-par season.
The side sat seventh before the competition was cancelled and the former Socceroo is determined to ensure the team is back on top of the ladder in 2022.
The coach has commenced a COVID-safe pre-season, meeting players for one-on-one training sessions.
Wilkshire has been impressed by the attitude from both Macdonald and Simonoski and he's confident they will help the Wolves challenge for a title next year.
"We want quality players, ideally local players, who want to be at this club and want to work, improve and want to win," Wilkshire said.
"Simo's been scoring goals in this league for many years. He's got the quality, experience and know-how to win in this league.
"Josh is a player who's been around professional football, he has quality and creativity and I'm looking forward to working with him."
The Illawarra Mercury news app is now officially live on both iOS and Android devices. It is available for download in the Apple Store and Google Play.