It’s been a meteoric rise up the ranks for the prodigiously talented Wade Dekker whose hard work has seen him progress from U20 starlet at Northcote City to a dazzling winger beginning his National Youth League journey with Melbourne City.
The budding youngster with humble beginnings at his local club spent years toiling away in the youth sides before bursting onto the scene with a nine goal season for Northcote playing across the front three.
Dekker’s work-rate and willingness to learn was something that helped him make the transition from youth team hopeful trying to establish himself to a player who truly has the capacity to hurt opposition on a regular basis.
He puts that process down to some wise words from coach Goran Lozanovski, who pushed to give him the confidence to express himself in games.
“For me, it was more presence on the pitch,” Dekker says.
“At Northcote, I tended to get lost here and there and I definitely tried to bring that here [at City] and have a presence on the field and getting involved in the game. That’s something I’ve definitely taken out of Northcote.
“In my first few games, there wasn’t much to be seen here or there but Loza [Goran Lozanovski] had a good talk to me and said ‘try to get involved a bit more’ so that’s definitely one thing I’ve taken out of Northcote and brought it here. Trying to get involved more and not just be another player on the pitch.”
Lozanovski pushed that mentality into his young forward right from the get go, and he welcomed the improvement of the youth product as the season progressed.
“[Dekker’s] progress has been fantastic, the last couple of years of playing in our U20’s and being part of the senior squad,” Lozanovski said earlier in the season.
“Like I said to Wade, there’s no use being in the first XI and just making up numbers.”
While the journey to the Melbourne City reserves may have come quite suddenly for a player who set himself the modest goal of ‘improvement’ during the NPL campaign, Dekker’s work-rate and subsequent hunger for the game meant that making that next step was a no-brainer for those that have watched him develop.
He admits that it all did come around a little faster than expected however.
“Definitely surreal. It’s all kind of happened very quickly, a lot of things happen very quickly,” he says.
“I set it as a goal at the start of the year that I want to try and do my best to take my game higher and being given this opportunity this year, I couldn’t ask for anything more, so I want to make the most of it.
“I want to give it 110% and leave everything out there [on the pitch] so of course I’m going to give it all I’ve got for the boys.
“It’s not an individual game, it’s all team focused so if I can give the best, I’m sure everyone else will follow, and of course, everybody did. I see the boys working extremely hard so I want to help and work hard as well.”
An industrious shift across the two flanks in Melbourne City’s 4-1 win over the Wanderers gave Dekker his first taste of success at the elite level, but despite his impressive performance he acknowledges there is a large step up in intensity from the NPL to grow accustomed to.
“It’s just a whole different intensity [between NPL and NYL] – when you come here, the intensity just goes up another level. NPL’s great, it’s a great stepping-stone to come into youth league,” he says.
The time spent playing against the battle hardened bodies found in the NPL however did do the slightly built man the world of good, as he was forced to make physicality a weapon in his arsenal.
“Playing against senior boys, it gives you good experience with bigger bodies and then you [to the NYL] here and there’s still bigger bodies but it just gives you that upper edge – that other [element] to your game where you know how to use your body a bit better in order to protect the ball.”
As for the future, he takes a minute to really think about what would mark a successful debut campaign in the top-tier system of Australian football.
“Success…” he ponders.
“Success is just seeing the team do well and playing good football. Moving the ball around, keeping possession, scoring good goals and working well as a team, that’s success.
“Then there’s me enjoying myself and having a good time, rather than having a stressful and pressured time.”