Wollongong Wolves’ 20-year-old attacker Harry Callahan has admitted that he misses that “winning feeling” with a date yet to be announced for the recommencement of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the NPL NSW Men’s season was put on temporary hold after three rounds – with restrictions eased recently allowing NPL teams to train once more, it’s given the former Bulli FC star hope that competitive football was just around the corner.

“You asked me what I miss most about the game and it’s easy really, I miss that winning feeling.

“It’s been great to be back on a training pitch, catching up with all the boys as I missed all the banter with them whilst we were off so I’ve definitely been happier seeing everything come back to some sort of normality.”

With no football played, Callahan proceeded to work more off the pitch and on job sites, being a bricklayer by trade, the work just kept coming during the peak COVID-19 restrictions.

“I can tell you that COVID’19 did not affect me too much personally as I’d been able to continue working my day to day job as a bricklayer in Sydney.

“Work certainly did not slow down there.

“The gap football has left in my day to day routines allowed me to work more but I did have a fair bit of spare time especially in the afternoons and weekends when these days were occupied by football.

“I did not get a chance to self-isolate as I said before, life for me, apart from no football was normal, but I missed looking forward to match days on weekends.”

Callahan had a memorable 2019 season with the Wolves, a year which saw him collect a an NPL NSW Men’s Premiership as well as an NPL Champions medal after Luke Wilkshire’s troops were crowed NPL Champions of Australia.

Football fans won’t forget the NPL Finals Series Grand Final when the young Wolves gun was simply outstanding as he picked up the ‘John Kosmina Man of the Match Medal’ playing a huge role in the Wolves’ thrilling and heart stomping 4-3 victory over Queenslanders, Lions FC at Albert Butler Park in October last year.

It was a heartbreaking start to the year for Wollongong Wolves’ long serving stalwart Chris Price who, along with the thousands of residents down the South Coast, battled the horrific bushfires that ripped through the state which resulted in many losing their homes and lives.

The 34-year-old along with his young family were directly impacted and were lucky that they all came out unscathed on New Years Eve while staying at his parents property – for his mother and father though, it was a gut wrenching site as they lost their entire property.

“We were very lucky that we got out with our lives on New Years Eve.

“We tried so hard to fight the fire, waited until the last minute to leave and found ourselves in a pretty precarious situation.

“My parents had the wreckage on their block cleared only a few weeks ago, so they are now starting the slow process of rebuilding.

“That fire and now COVID-19 has made 2020 a testing year so far.

“But like everyone, I’m sure it has brought us closer together and reminded us that family is the most important thing in life.”

In times of real need you call upon your family and friends for support and Price had just that in the form of Australian Boomers and San Antonio Spurs star Patty Mills.

“My wife knows Patty from their time at the AIS together so that is the connection.

“Patty had just over 5 days off during the NBA All-Star weekend.

“He chose to fly to Australia and travel around to some of the places that had been affected by the bushfires to offer support.

“He was so generous and delivered much needed supplies to assist locals with the recovery process.

“It was great for my wife to catch up with Patty and for him to meet my family.

“He is a true gentleman and brought a smile to many people’s faces during a devastating period.”

With the fires impacting Price, COVID-19 then appeared soon after, throwing more stress on him and his family and his everyday life as a schoolteacher and footballer.

“Personally, it changed the way work operated for me for a time, restricted my interactions with family and friends and of course took away football which left me with more free time in the evenings.

“It has been nice to be able to spend that time with our 18-month-old son, I have really enjoyed that.

“But its given me time for my wife and I to build our own house so that has required a fair bit of my attention.

“I have still been working as a primary teacher during the lockdown albeit under different circumstances.

“Once we were allowed, we also spent time with family which was refreshing as we got to enjoy our parents company especially after what happened on New Years Eve.

“My wife and I have been down the Coast most weekends before the restrictions and since they’ve eased, we’ve been on their farm helping them clean up, building new fences and basically helping mum and dad get back on their feet.”

During the first outbreak of COVID-19 in the state, Price paid a glowing tribute to fellow teammate Nick Littler who battled the virus head on as a registered nurse at the St George Hospital.

“Litts is a quality guy and I think his job really typifies him as a person.

“He has had to put himself and his little family in a tricky situation for all of us.

“It is something we all should not take lightly and be extremely grateful for.

“Not only is he a champion bloke but a quality footballer and we are lucky to have him at the Wolves.”

On the football front, Price has been happy that he along with his Wolves teammates, have been able to train once more after restrictions were recently eased in NSW.

“It was certainly a huge relief for us all.

“Getting to see all the boys and hitting the pitch even in a restricted capacity, has been great.

“We are a tight knit group of guys and being able to get away from the seriousness of the world, enjoy each other’s company and talk a bit of rubbish has been very refreshing.

“I’ve missed the game so much.

“When you play football, it allows you to switch off from the daily grind and put your energy and focus into something you really enjoy.

“Probably the biggest thing I have missed is the comradery amongst the boys and of course nothing beats a winning feeling and having success as a team.”

If there’s one thing Wollongong Wolves defender Taylor McDonald has understood more so these past few weeks since football went into lockdown mode is the huge appreciation he has given to the thousands of doctors, nurses alike fighting on the COVID-19 frontline across the nation – one in particular being fellow teammate Nick Littler and the others being both his sisters.

“The whole experience has been and continues to be so surreal.

“Both my sisters work in health care and emergency services as well as playing alongside Nick Littler who is in the front line working as a Respiratory RN in the public health system.

“I can now truly appreciate their tireless contributions and efforts to the community.

“If I have learnt anything from this experience so far it’s to appreciate everything and everyone around us.

“Some of us take the simplest of things for granted and as we have seen, these things can be taken in an instant.”

The Current National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s Premiership winner and NPL Champion has resisted hibernating and has hit up a tough fitness regime in a huge way.

“I actually cleaned out my garage when the news broke.

“I bought a home gym a few years back that’s now being put to good use.

“I get on the ball when I can, but just trying to keep ticking over for the time being.

“Since the football lockdown took place, I have spent quality time with family which is nice. I’ve also been doing the odd-job around the house and creating teaching programs for relatives who are home schooling their kids.”

Work wise, apart from football being suspended till May 31^st, McDonald has still been on point with his teaching duties as a primary school teacher albeit finding it tough as students have found it hard to realise the situation the globe is currently in.

“Fortunately, both my girlfriend and I are Primary School Teachers.

“Attendance levels have been minimal.

“Younger students don’t fully comprehend the situation we are currently living in.

“They miss their friends, routines and social/sporting activities have been taken from them.

“Trying to educate the younger students on this pandemic has been extremely difficult.

“Kids don’t truly understand the situation we are in and feel confused which has been tough to deal with.”

The world game has been a sport that has kept the 23-year-old fit and healthy since he could walk and it was no secret that the absence of not being able to be around his teammates, playing on match day and fighting for three points has been sorely missed.

“I miss everything about our wonderful game that is why it’s the number one sport in the world.

“However, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I do miss the boys and camaraderie.

“When you see them more than your own family during the week, it’s a bit of a shock to the system.”

With constant government updates given on a daily basis by both Federal and State MP’s, the message of staying home and looking after yourself ensuring you are exercising social distancing has been paramount to the methods of stopping the COVID-19 spread.

McDonald took the opportunity to address the support that was needed by everyone in the football family to fight this as one in order of getting back to normality sooner rather than later.

“Firstly, you need to follow the guidelines that have been put in place.

“They are there solely to protect us.

“Most importantly, be kind and help one another.

“Support your club in whatever way that you can as well during this tough period.

“The survival of football clubs is dependent on the support of its stakeholders.

“If you are a fan, volunteer, coach, player, or parent, assist in whatever way you can.

“Every contribution counts.

“I have no doubt in the world, once this time has passed, we will be stronger than ever.

“I eagerly await the day when we can all go back to enjoying football and everything it has to offer again.”

You may know him as one of the most fiercest defenders in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition having played for the likes of the Sutherland Sharks and now Wollongong Wolves, but now tough tackling Nick Littler is fighting a different kind of battle away from the football pitch and that’s being at the frontline battling COVID-19 as a registered nurse at the St George Hospital.

Littler is one of over 100,000 registered nurses in NSW currently working around the clock at the St George Hospital in the respiratory ward which has transformed to the COVID-19 ward.

“This COVID-19 virus has definitely affected me personally.

“As mentioned, I am a registered nurse and have been for the last six years.

“I am currently at St George Hospital and I am working in the newly created COVID-19 ward dealing with patients suffering with the illness and respiratory issues.”

Football has taken a back seat since the sport amongst many others suspended activity, but the 28-year-old has been on the go assisting people in desperate need of survival.

“Since the football lockdown I have been working (and stressing) about COVID-19.

“It’s been non-stop, I mean at time’s it’s difficult not knowing how bad the day will be but I’m just so thankful that I am still able to work and hopefully make a difference to all the people out there suffering from COVID-19 and to also provide for my family.”

Th fear of catching it himself has of course crossed the Wolves star’s mind but high level monitoring has assured he has kept it at bay.

“Yeah 100% I know of think with the amount of people getting it and how quickly its spreading, it’s kind of inevitable that I will get it.

“Obviously we do everything in our power not to but definitely there is always that fear there.”

Littler, amidst all the chaos, has managed to fit in some fitness time around his very hectic schedule keeping the body fit and the mind sane along with spending time with his lovely young family.

“For obvious reasons it’s not been easy to stay fit apart from being run off my feet at work.

“I’ve been doing some running just to keep ticking over while the NPL season is on hold.

“I also get some time to run around and kick a ball in the backyard with my daughter.

“Spending some really nice quality time with my wife Britt and my 2 kids Isla, she’s 3 and Henry who is 8 months has also been amazing.”

You could forgive Littler for not thinking about football too much but the ‘big man’ who was one of the key players that steered the Wolves to Premiership and NPL Glory in 2019 knows that the absence of football has been evident in more ways than one.

“I’ll tell you what I miss most about our game, winning.

“Coming off our season last year and winning like we did.

“I miss being able to do that every weekend.

“Also the banter in the team, we have a great bunch of lads and I’m actually missing not seeing them 4-5 times a week.”

Asked what his message was to the NPL NSW Football family regarding taking safety measures to minimise the spread, Littler did not mince his words.

“We have to do what’s been asked of us, social distancing and staying at home are the 2 most important things that someone can do at the moment.

“I’ve seen how bad this virus can be and the last thing I want to see is more people dying from it.

“So I want to stress how vital it is that those who can stay at home! Please!”

On behalf of the football family, Nick you are a real hero, keep fighting the fight we all applaud you.