Aiming for the summit

COOMERA coach Steve MacDonald concedes the Colts must solidify their standing as a Gold Coast Premier League force before they can start attracting the competition’s best players.

Now preparing for his second season in charge at Viney Park, MacDonald helped the Colts defy all expectations – they collected the wooden spoon in 2017 – to finish sixth in this year’s 10-team league.

However, speaking in the latest edition of the Bulletin’s Round Ball Round Up podcast, the former Pacific Pines mentor said they would first need to prove they belonged in the top flight to continue their rise.

“I think we need to establish ourselves in that top four,” said the Englishman, who arrived in Australia in 2009.

“Because we’re a little bit out of the catchment area, we need to establish ourselves in the league before we can start attracting any of those (elite) players, which is fine.

“We just have to look further afield for our players.

“In two or three years hopefully we’re established in that four and people do starting looking at us as a destination they want to come to.”

Coomera’s 2019 aspirations will not be helped by the departure of star midfielder Attilio “William” Assante but MacDonald is adamant they can thrive without their gun.

“He’ll be a huge loss because he was one of the best players in the league,” MacDonald said.

“He got (Coomera’s) Players’ Player of the Year and was just such a nice kid as well.

“There’s a few reasons that he might come back (to the Coast) but if he did we’d definitely be pushing him to NPL.”

Hear the full podcast at goldcoastbulletin.com.au