By KRISTEN ALEBAKIS
THE Newport Football Club has put in countless amount of hours and hard work into preparing for Round 1.
The club is embarking on their first season in the senior competition after 10 years of being involved with the Western Region Football League’s junior competition.
At the helm of their inaugural season is former Hawthorn premiership hero Mark Williams, who has been appointed playing-coach for 2016.
Williams has been involved with the Ballan Football Club in the Central Highlands Football League for the past few years.
He led the club to a preliminary final appearance last season.
Williams said he was drawn to Newport because his family has had a strong connection with the club – his son plays footy in the juniors and his daughter also plays netball for Newport.
“It's good to have that family connection with sport,” he said.
“The lack of travel also has been an upside, as I used to commute to Ballan three times a week and those long drives can take a toll on you both physically and mentally.
“I see a lot of growth in the area and a huge opportunity to stamp Newport on the map.”
Williams said the club has had to build a team ‘from the bottom up’ with the hope they can be competitive from the first bounce to the final siren.
He said the behind the scenes, the club had been working hard during the summer months to put together a program that is aimed at getting the most out of its players.
“I have a strong coaching team alongside me, Jonathan Rayner brings a wealth of knowledge with him,” Williams said.
“Billy Koutsoumbas has helped the boys with their strength and motivation and Marwan Abouzeid is tireless in his organisation of the club.
“While on the administrative front the president, Stephen Martyn, has been an enormous help with all the behind the scenes work that isn't always recognised.
“We have a solid team of people at Newport Power so I believe the future is very bright.”
Williams said the focus of pre-season has been fitness, skills and attitude – the fundamentals he believe can take your game to another level.
“We have had good numbers at each training session,” he said.
“The boys came back after the Christmas break in good shape and with positive attitudes.
“It's been challenging at times as Newport hasn't had a seniors side in such a long time that we have had to really build the team from the bottom up in order to put a side together that we feel will be competitive on a regular basis.”
In order to best prepare for the season ahead, the club has been very busy on the recruiting front, adding talented players to its list as well as guiding the youngsters from their successful Under-19 premiership into the senior team.
“There are a lot of good young talent at the club,” Williams said.
“The Under 19's side won the premiership last year, so there is a strong pool of kids we can pick from.
“Macca El Houli and Karl El Houli are two of the stand outs at training so far.”
With the season only 22 days away, Williams is now turning his attention to Round 1, with club set to travel to Tarneit for their first game on April 9.
He said is looking forward to the first game.
“I am keen to see if the hard work we have put in over pre-season will pay off with some strong competitive efforts and maybe even a few wins,” Williams said.
Last Modified on 18/03/2016 12:09