What the Wollongong Wolves need to improve on for 2023 charge

Following a ninth placed finish last year, Wolves coach Luke Wilkshire - who guided the side to state and national championships in his time at the helm - departed at season's end to take on a youth role with A-League club Central Coast.

In stepped former Socceroo and A-League championship winner, David Carney.

From the get go, Carney made his intentions clear and through his new signings in the off-season, he has made sure that the starting XI for next year will be vastly different to the one that took to the field in their final competition game against Sutherland in Wollongong.

Read more: Oxley content despite falling short in Sydney to Hobart

It has certainly been a busy off-season for the club, with Carney signing a number of new faces including: Nenad Vekic, Walter Scott, Mirza Muratovic, Jake Trew, Chris McStay, Alex Masciovecchio, Harrison Buesnel and Ethan Bevan.

As well as the new faces, he re-signed Marcus Beattie, Banri Kanaizumi, Jake Lavalle, Josh Macdonald and his captain, Lachlan Scott.

It is a quality team on paper, but it was last year too.

So, what do the Wolves need to improve on most in 2023?

Pace

One of the things Carney said right from the outset was the need to improve the side's pace in transition going forward from last year.

Gone are the days of pure possession football. Teams need to keep their shape defensively and once they win the ball - hopefully as high up the pitch as possible - they need to go and destroy opponents in transition thanks in most part to the pace of the two full-backs.

Carney quickly re-signed Beattie, who will be the first choice right full-back and made the call to former A-League product Walter Scott, who will be deployed on the left side of defence. Scott is looking to make his mark in the competition in the search for another professional contract.

After spending a fair bit of time at full-back in his career, Carney knows exactly what makes an effective player in that position and Scott and Beattie will have one of the best in the business to teach them their trade.

Other than in his backline, Carney has re-built his midfield and his frontline. Captain Scott has a lot of qualities, but out-and-out pace is not his main one. Despite this, having players like Macdonald, Muratovic, Trew and Masciovecchio around him will prove an effective tool where the skipper can play provider and get himself into the box to finish off chances.

Defence

At the risk of sounding like a pretty regular pundit by saying 'the defence needs to be better', that is what I'm saying.

The side's ninth placed finish can be largely put down to the fact that the team conceded too many goals. 42 in 22 games to be exact.

Injuries did play their part and the fact that versatile defender Kanaizumi won the club's player of the year speaks volumes.

But it will be a new look backline next year and whilst the focus is on improving the attack, much attention is also needed at the other end of the pitch. The old saying is 'strikers win you games, defenders win you championships' after all.

Read more: A look back at the best of the UCI World Championships

In goals the side has brought in experienced goalkeeper Nenad Vekic whilst in the heart of defence Carney is looking to play Kanaizumi in the middle of the backline. In the full-back roles will be the aforementioned Beattie and Scott. As for who plays next to Kanaizumi, there has been high praise for ACT talent Buesnel as well as former Mariners Academy product Ethan Beaven, who will bring a different type of style to the defence.

At just 19, Buesnel has already won a league with Tuggeranong United and said he would be looking to step up his game following signing for the Wolves.

Beaven is looking to shore up a consistent spot in the first team and brings with him an impressive resume, playing at clubs like Sydney United and the Mariners.

If the defence was more solid last season they would have managed more than just four wins, as they had many high-scoring draws.

Consistency

It was perhaps their biggest flaw in 2022, but the Wolves need to get back into the habit of winning consistently once more.

Only once did the team secure back-to-back wins and that was in May following their sensational 3-1 win over Blacktown in Wollongong followed up by a 1-0 victory against Sutherland.

The team was also let down by losing against teams lower than them on the ladder, despite promising showings and points secured against teams who ended up finishing in the top five.

Probably the biggest example of that was their 4-3 loss to Mt Druitt on a Friday night where winning was the only option.

The Wolves will be looking to get out of the blocks early in 2023, with the side not recording a victory in any of their last 11 fixtures in the NPL last campaign.

If Carney can get his side to start quickly in the season and manage to pull together some early wins, it will be hard for any team to stop the Wolves from slowing down.

Read more: Illawarra champions Kents hold on in indoor shootout thriller

Making Wollongong a fortress

Whether it be at WIN Stadium or Albert Butler, Sydney teams need to be fearful of coming down the highway to play in Wollongong.

The good news for the Wolves is they don't have to look too far back in the history books to find the winning formula with their 2019 National League triumph.

But being so far geographically from most of the other sides must count for something. And they need to make a trip to the Illawarra one that certainly does not guarantee three points for the opposition. In an ideal scenario, teams coming from Sydney should be looking to simply avoid defeat out of a trip to Wollongong.

The Wolves have shown positives in pre-season against Sutherland and Macarthur, but can they keep it going come the first week in February against APIA Leichhardt?

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say.

Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.

To read more stories, download the Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.