Hidic out to try luck elsewhere
NORTH Geelong’s aspirations for a team built on young, local talent have taken a hit after youngster Thomas Hidic left the club citing his desire to play first XI football.
Hidic, 17, was one of many shining lights for the Warriors outfit, scoring three goals — including the matchwinner off the bench against league leader Altona Magic in Round 4.
Often used as a spark off the bench, Hidic struggled to crack into the starting XI under Luciano Trani and more recently Nathan Rogers and James Coutts, with the latter unable to guarantee him a starting spot.
The departure of Hidic further highlights the challenge clubs have in selecting the strongest possible squad and retaining up-and-coming talent.
“I spoke to Tom when I first came in and said people will be given opportunities however, I like saying, ‘I don’t really pick the team, the team picks themselves with how they’re training, how they apply themselves in games’,” Coutts said.
“Tom obviously wasn’t starting at the moment because the boys were winning games and getting results and it’s hard to change the team … and he decided the best thing for his career was to go elsewhere.
“It’s hard because on one hand we want local players but for me it’s mainly the characters I want.
“I want people who want to be at the club, who want to fight, who are open to learning.
“I’ve been offered players who are very good NPL players but I’ve got young players in around the group that I want to develop.”
In the short term, the loss of Hidic will be manageable with the core of the group still re- markably young and the likes of Jamie Noggler and Darius Madison starting to find form upfront.
The Warriors will go into their Round 18 clash against Whittlesea at home today with one forced change after Anthony Banovac headed overseas on vacation. Nick Teichmann seems the likely fit to fill the centre-back void with Lewis Waight a possibility to return to the left-back position.
North currently sits third on the NPL2 ladder, just one point behind second-placed St Albans, however Coutts said his side isn’t focused on its ladder position but on playing high intensity football.
“It’s very cliched but we’ve got 10 games to go and we want to be focused on ourselves and being positive in everything,” he said. “We want to be an intense team where there is a work rate and a work ethic that is non-negotiable.
“I want to get players on the ball who can cause problems, who are good attacking outlets and make sure defensively we can get that structure and shape in.
“We need to build the level across the board so the players can play the style we want both with and without the ball.”