KEEPER CALL TO COME LATE
NORTH Geelong’s mission to keep its season on track continues tonight when it takes on Ballarat City away at Morshead Park Stadium.
Despite a shock 4-0 drubbing last week against the Goulburn Valley Suns, the Warriors still sit in fourth place and within striking distance of league leader Altona Magic.
Warriors coach Luciano Trani implemented modified programs on a number of players during the week, as his side is still feeling the effects of the extra workload that the FFA Cup tournament provided.
Four usual starting 11 prospects in Nicholas Teichmann, Michael Boyar, Andrew Scicluna and Domenico Marafioti are all battling to be part of tonight’s squad with the latter three the most likely to take on Ballarat City.
“We’ve had a lighter session this week given the workload last week,” Trani said. “It’s important that we put the boys who are fatigued or carrying injuries on modified programs early in the week before the main session Thursday.”
The major selection dilemma still facing the Warriors is who will stake their claim as the No. 1 goalkeeper.
The sharp rise in improvement from youngster Hamish Flavell has put pressure on vice-captain Marko Stevanja with Stevanja the first-choice keeper in the most recent clash.
It’s a decision that won’t be made until right before tonight’s match, however, with Trani now wanting a level of stability in the position as they take on the next phase of the season.
“Both have done reasonably well and I’m going to leave the call right up until game day because it’s important we have some stability around that role,” he said. “Ultimately, going into the next week or two it must be a little bit more settled.”
The Warriors will be buoyed by the return of defensive midfielder Damien Peters, who has been selected in the squad after missing last week due to personal reasons.
Nicholas Anderson should get the opportunity to plead his case for the right back spot, while Aleks Petkoski is an improved player and may get a chance to start.
“He (Petkoski) came on in the second half and did a reasonable job,” Trani said
“He’s a guy who’s really been progressing well and has improved out of sight so he’s likely to come in.”
Trani said the main analytical takeaway from the loss to the Suns was his side’s defensive structure needed to improve.
“We need to be a lot more compact and disciplined. We are expecting a much more improved performance,” he said.