Coach: Nino Ragusa
2014 Finish: 12th It was an incredibly tough year for Nino Ragusa’s Werribee outfit who escaped relegation by the narrowest margins, earning a dramatic final day draw, relegating regional outfit Ballarat Red Devils in the process, despite having an inferior goal difference. That in itself tells the story of the Bees 2014 season. It was an outfit that found goals very hard to come by, finishing with the second worst goal record in the top flight. It says it all when centre-back Steven Cudrig is your top scorer on five, with mid-season signing Simon Tolli second with four. As for the positives, well they started in decent form, earning three wins from five starts. They’ll need to start fast again should they want success in the NPL’s second edition.
New signings: Headlining the list of in’s include former Avondale FC’s Italian import Arturo Ymeri, who brings his experience in the Italian lower leagues to the NPL in season 2015. The other big name signing for Werribee is former Socceroos defender Simon Colosimo, who joins his second NPL club in the space of a year, having moved from Goulburn Valley Suns
Daniel Chaabani looks to be a shrewd pick-up, with the former VTC and Melbourne Victory Youth full-back an accomplished user of the ball. Defender Angus Martin returns to Victoria after a stint in Tasmania, while left footed winger Joshua Jokic looks set to add width to the Bees outfit. The club also secured deals for Michael Simms, Frano Saric and Nicola Carafiglio
Players to watch: For Werribee to have a chance of survival this term, their defence will have to come to the fore. The experience and nerve of Colosimo will add some nous to the defensive line, while the aerially gifted Steven Cudrig is expected to partner him, freeing up former Knights defender Ryan Filipovic to possibly shield the defence.
But it’s incredibly hard to look past Arturo Ymeri as a key player for City, with the technically savvy Italian midfielder playing a large role in Avondale’s promotion plight.
What to expect in 2015: With all due respect to the club, survival will be the aim in 2015. Where some teams around them have strengthened considerably – see Port Melbourne – it looks to be a similar squad quality wise to last year. In saying that, never write off a mentally tough group lead by the enigmatic Nino Ragusa. It might not be pretty, but Werribee football may just be enough to see them competing in the 2016 NPL. Battlers to the end.