Young gun back for North Geelong Warriors
Courtesy: Geelong Advertiser
TEENAGE soccer star Matthew Demo is to rejoin North Geelong Warriors for the upcoming season, after completing his stint at Melbourne Victory.
The 18-year-old striker will play his final match for Victory in the National Youth League on Sunday, against the Australian Institute of Sport team in Canberra.
Demo will return to Warriors after a stop-start spell at Victory, in which he managed to score two goals after being restricted to just a handful of starts.
He was given the chance to take part in the new National Training Centre initiative that will see Victory players turn out for mid-week games, but turned down the opportunity. “The team plays on Wednesday nights and its hard to travel up to Clayton, especially as hes starting university at Deakin,” Demo’s father Stan said.
“He would basically have to quit university to play in friendly games. Victory said that if he didn’t stay they couldn’t guarantee a contract for next year, but if he has a good season for North, there’s a chance he will go back.”
Stan Demo said his son had lost weight and improved his touch and shooting abilities since joining Victory, but admitted that he was a little disappointed with how the move panned out.
“He got a bit of a chance, but not a proper chance,” he said. “He was dropped for no reason and his confidence fell a bit. But his hunger and ambition is still there and he’ll be on the radar of other A-League clubs now. There are always opportunities in Europe and Asia too, so we’ll see.”
Demo is one of a trio of returning stars for Warriors as the club prepares for life in State League 1.
Daniel Dragicevic, top scorer in 2008, has returned from the Gold Coast to rejoin the team, alongside midfield lynchpin Ante Deak, who took a year away from the sport in 2009. The club has also signed young midfielder Reardo Luka from Werribee and is close to landing former AIS and Hadjuk Split starlet Ante Cicak.
Warriors president Joe Zilic said that the club even had the luxury of turning down the services of an unnamed former A-League striker.
“It was a tough call, but we would’ve risked more than we would’ve gained,” he said.
“We have a vision of young players coming through and if our senior players are 19 or 20-years-old, it will help the 16-year-olds in the under-21s push harder. The squad is stronger this year, but last year has matured the younger kids. There is a nice feeling in the dressing room and the players have developed a good bond. The older players know that the club is in good hands, so they won’t have to dust off their boots again and again.”
