New role, same Urosevski as Rockdale captain tops scoring charts in 2023 

Alec Urosevski embarked on another unmatched goalscoring tirade for Rockdale Ilinden in the 2023 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s, claiming the Golden Boot.

‘The Baker’ managed 27 goals across 30 games; 10 more than the next closest competitors.

The lethal forward said he exceeded his own expectations having aimed for 25 at the start of this campaign.

This season was different for Urosevski, taking on the burden of the captain’s armband. It wasn’t just the goals that mattered for Urosevski, but making sure he led the team well.

“It [captaincy] comes with big responsibility, and I’ve learned to focus on others as well instead of just trying to do my own thing. You also have to guide the others around you,” Urosevski said.

“I hope that I’ve done the team proud, and they can look up to me.”

He said his favourite strike was his match-winning overhead kick late on against Central Coast Mariners in round 27 that kept Ilinden’s title charge going.

The captain couldn’t drag his limping team, ravaged with omissions, through to title glory as they fell short of APIA Leichhardt.

Despite another season of personal accolades, he explained team silverware is what he wants more than anything in the game. He still sees 2023 as a successful campaign for the NPL NSW Men’s giants, though.

In 2022, Rockdale were languishing in sixth, missing out on finals leaving new coach Paul Dee and assistant Nick Stavroulakis tasked with turning the team back into a top side.

Urosevski explained the team quickly kicked into gear after a 6-0 flogging from APIA in round two, staying true to their plan of play for the season.

“You can get those individual goals, but what the fans want and everyone in the team wants is trophies, so I am gutted that we didn’t get it,” Urosevski explained.

“We’ve definitely grown from last year. Especially with new coaches coming in, it can take some time, but we’ve adapted well, and we’ve adapted quickly, which is good.

“We had a vision, and we had a game plan. Dee and his coaching staff; they implemented that early, and we were all on the same page, and we knew what we wanted to achieve.”

The star attacker said there were other positives for the team as well. This year saw the introduction of plenty of young talent into the Rockdale squad, but with it came key learnings.

Urosevski emphasised needing improvement in managing games from winning positions, having given up many leads throughout the season.

However, overall, he is looking for more of the same from his team in 2023. He’s confident that with a couple of tweaks, the team could be lifting silverware next year.

Feature by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_