The Lake Macquarie Roosters say their three-year licence in the NPL will give them the chance to develop on and off the field without the threat of relegation.
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Northern NSW Football confirmed on Tuesday that the Roosters would be included in an 11-team NPL until 2019.
The Roosters, who were minor premiers across all four senior grades in the second tier this year, were understood to be the only First Division club who satisfied all criteria for promotion.
Promotion and relegation will cease between the top and second tier, to be renamed Northern League One, for at least three years.
First-grade coach Anthony Richards said the extended licence meant the Roosters would not have to “throw ridiculous money around to stay up there”.
“You don’t have to panic and try and buy a competition like you have in the past few years. We’ll look to give the guys who have done the right thing by the club a chance,” Richards said.
We’ll look to give the guys who have done the right thing by the club a chance.
- - Anthony Richards
“We don’t want to fall into the trap of spending thousands of dollars on players and you’ve only got them for a year. I don’t think we’ll be chasing any big shots.”
Lake Macquarie were torn apart by the Jets youth team in a practice game early this season, and Richards knows the NPL will be a “big jump” for his players.
“In the first half I think we touched the ball once, at the kick-off, and maybe a goal kick, so maybe twice. We’re not dumb enough to think we’re going to win the competition, but we’ll look to improve as we go.”
A NNSWF memo to clubs cited the quality of the Roosters’ application, on-field results in 2016 and youth structure as reasons for their admission to the NPL.
Club secretary Anthony Mitchell said the three-year licence would help the Roosters retain and attract the best local players.
“The best juniors [usually] go to the big-name clubs, the Broadmeadow Magics and Hamiltons, in order to ensure that they stay in the NPL, so this will probably level the playing field a little bit,” Mitchell said.
“It is also an opportunity to give exposure for a lot of the players who live out in Lake Macquarie, where there isn’t a lot of NPL options.
“Apart from Edgeworth, there’s really nothing on that western side of the lake.”
Mitchell said the three-year licence would allow the club to focus on ground improvements.
“We’re working with council on a new grandstand. It’s still a couple of years away at a minimum as it’s still only in the concept-plan stage.
“The beauty of having the three-year guaranteed period is you can work on other aspects of the club.”
Charlestown and Valentine will stay in the NPL after allaying concerns about their financial viability and home ground respectively.
