BEN Sedlen recalls the days - and they aren't all that long ago - when Taree Wildcats were among the powerhouses of the then Football Mid North Coast Premier League.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He coached the Wildcats to a premiership in 2011 and Taree was usually a title contender, a fixture in the semi-finals.
Sedlen is making a comeback to coaching the Wildcats this year, but it's a vastly different scenario to the glory days.
The Wildcats now play in the one grade Southern League, contested by clubs from the Manning Valley and Great Lakes. Taree dropped down to the Southern League last year after a disastrous foray in what was known as the Coastal Premier League, a two grade, 12 club competition that took in teams from Forster-Tuncurry to Coffs Harbour.
It collapsed at the end of 2022, however, Taree chose not to nominate for the revamped premier league run by Football Mid North Coast, opting to play in the Southern League, where they finished among the also-rans.
"We struggled last year, but we're looking a lot stronger this season,'' Sedlen said.
"We have a lot of players from Old Bar. Jake Dawson rang me and asked if I'd give him a hand with the coaching, so it's good to be back.
"I've seen the calibre of players we have to work with and it's exciting again.''
Under 18 champions
The Wildcats were the southern league and zone under 18 champions last season and Sedlen said the intention is to give a number of those players a run in the men's competition this year.
"We have some good juniors and they'll get plenty of chances to shine in the senior competition,'' Sedlen said.
"Hopefully that'll be the future for the club.
"We have about 16 players registered and we also have the under 18s to call on. A lot of our over 35s have only just turned 35 and they're happy to help out in the men's comp if needed.''
Sedlen believes Taree's troubles started when the core group of players from the successful era stepped aside.
"We had Josh Ferris, Ricky Campbell, Jackson Witts all stop playing and we just didn't have replacements,'' he said. "Then playing in the coastal league was a problem. We lost a fair few of our senior players who didn't want to travel to Coffs Harbour. Four or five are playing with Wingham now.''
He said Wingham is the benchmark of the Southern League.
"They're a long way in front of everyone else, from what I've seen,'' he said.
A former club president, Sedlen is no longer involved with administration so he doesn't know if Taree's longer term plans include returning to the Zone Premier League (ZPL).
No plans yet for a premier league return
Football Mid North Coast's Zone Premier League (ZPL) is again expected to be contested by five clubs.
Taree Wildcats secretary Michael Wallace has said previously the club would consider nominating for the league if there was sufficient interest in the playing group.
However, the Wildcats will stay in the one grade, Southern League again this year.
Wildcats coach Ben Sedlen believes the club should aspire to eventually return to the premier league.
"I always think you should try and play in the strongest possible competition,'' Sedlen said.
"But that would be up to the club. The problem around here is we have too many clubs taking players off each other.
"In the Manning alone we have Taree, Wingham, Old Bar, Tinonee, Cundletown and Lansdowne. We could realistically play a Manning-only competition.''
A premier league return would probably mean Taree would need to field two grades and Sedlen argues that would be difficult at present, particularly with the travel required to Kempsey and Port Macquarie.
"Back in the day we had Old Bar and Wingham (involved In the premier league) and two clubs from Forster-Tuncurry, so there were away games close to home,'' he said.
"But we'd be in Port or Kempsey every other weekend if we were in the premier league.''
