Prodanovic key to Sutherland’s success according to Stamatellis

Sutherland Sharks defender and skipper Mitchell Stamatellis said he believes coach Damir Prodanovic has been pivotal in the club’s newly-found form in the 2023 National Premier Leagues NSW Men. 

It’s been a tough past couple of years for the Sharks, finishing in the bottom two in their two most recent NPL NSW NSW Men’s seasons. Damir Prodanovic, along with assistant Panagiotis Nikas, came to Sutherland intent on implementing an attractive possession-based style to get the Sharks back to the top.

Stamatellis resonated with this philosophy, joining on for 2023 with plenty of other new faces. He explained part of his role in the system as a central defender, is to set the Sharks’ attacks in motion with build-up from the back.

However, early on, the team continued to endure disappointing results.

Back-to-back 3-0 defeats to start the year including a loss to reigning premiers Sydney Olympic, saw the side plummet to the foot of the table. They won just one of their first six games of this season.

Stamatellis said he felt at times the team were going back into their shell, looking to play for the result rather than sticking to the instilled principles of play. However, he said despite the poor run, Prodanovic’s management helped the team maintain belief.

“The way we played in the first game of the season against Olympic was probably one of the best games we’ve played this season,” Stamatellis explained.

“We took a lot of confidence from the way we played, and we knew the results didn’t go our way in those early games, but if we kept playing the way we were and we stuck to our philosophy and we continued to be brave, the results would come.”

The side shocked title hopefuls Marconi Stallions in round seven later as the chemistry started to come together. That match kick-started some impressive form for the Sharks losing only once since, with three wins in their last three.

Stamatellis said avoiding conceding goals in games, particularly early, gives the Sharks the platform to go and win.

“We just started to work together and those balls in the final third started to come off which weren’t previously,” Stamatellis said.

“If we keep to our structure and particularly our defensive structure and our work ethic and we don’t let teams score goals, they’ll open up against us.

“We didn’t concede those early goals and then other teams went looking for the result, for the goal.”

With Sutherland now looking up the table for the first time in a while, Stamatellis credited coach Prodanovic for the recent turnaround. Having played at the NPL NSW NSW Men’s level since he was 17, the 31-year-old said the current Sharks’ boss is the most committed he’s worked with.

Stamatellis stated he is confident the team will push on towards the top five places in the competition in the second half of the season under Prodanovic’s leadership.

“I’ve never been under a coach who puts in so much time and preparation into not only the sessions, but the games for us,” he said.

“I think Damir and Pani [Nikas] will probably end up coaching at a higher level at some stage too. They’re great coaches and I have a lot of faith in them.

“The way we are being coached, the way we’re drilled, the way we’re structured, I can only see us improving. I feel the other teams won’t have the same amount of improvement as us, which is why I have so much belief in the team and the squad and the coaching staff at Sutherland.”

Sutherland take on local rivals St George City in a huge derby clash and our Match of the Round this weekend at Seymour Shaw with a chance to go level on points with their opponents in fifth.

Feature by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_