Mt Druitt Leveraging Blend of Youth and Experience to Compete in 2022

With a fire and determination to make a big impact in the NPL NSW Men’s competition, Stewart Montgomery’s Mt Druitt Town Rangers are ready to make 2022 their year.

Having recruited some big names to fill vacant positions within the squad and giving opportunities to their developing youth players, the Rangers are hoping to finish the season with some silverware.

“We’re excited about the new players that we’ve brought in,” Montgomery said.

“We learned from last year that the depth of the squad and bringing through the younger players to ensure that they’re ready for not only this season but future seasons is critical.

“We’re really happy with the progression that they’ve made, as well as bringing in a lot of other experienced players to cover some of the gaps, and we’re still looking to strengthen the roster a little bit later on.”

The new additions to the team will bring a new style to Mt Druitt that will allow the team to play a rejuvenated strategy that will test even the strongest sides in the league.

“What we’ve been able to do is become a lot more mobile,” Montgomery explained.

“Matty Symes has come in and he’s 26, at the peak of his career, and he’s a fantastic replacement for Carlos in goals and let’s us play a higher line as well, so we’re looking forward to starting from the number one position a bit higher up the field.

“Blake Thompson, has been replaced by Diego Barbosa who’s a really exciting player.

“He’s coming directly from Portugal and had a long history in Benfica, Porto, Sporting Lisbon youth teams and played in the Portuguese under 16s national team so we’re really excited about him coming in and Louis Khoury has come into our midfield role as well from Central Coast Mariners.

“Whilst we’ve lost a little bit of experience… we’ve been able to bring in a lot of mobility and speed, which will really test a lot of the opposition sides.”

The new, exciting players will combine well with the developing players that the club has prioritised over the past few years to ensure the next generation of talent rises through the ranks.

“It’s really about making sure that they believe that they can do it as well, that their talent will get them to that next level but it is truly about giving them that experience on the park because, as you know, there’s nothing like playing first grade.

“You can’t play 20s and be the best player in 20s all the time, you actually have to give them that opportunity to step up and we’ve done that for a long time at the club, and it’s something we’re proud of.”

Having planned and invested in creating a quick and aggressive style of football in the off season, Montgomery is confident his team will be able to put up a good fight for the NPL NSW Men’s title.

“We’re in a much stronger position this time around than what we were this time last year, where we had a few changes towards the back end before the season started,” he said.

“Everyone knows what their roles are and we’re really, really excited about that round one.

“We need to lay down a marker and achieve something this year, that’s what we want to do.”

-By Madeline Riley