When North Geelong Warriors face off against St Albans Saints at Elcho Park today, it will be more than just a clash between the bottom two sides desperate for the three points to try claw their way out of the relegation zone. For North Geelong coach Micky Colina, it’s a fixture that always holds greater significance given St Albans is a place where he remains a club legend, having spent all his playing days and many years of his coaching career there.
In the early 1980s, Colina began his footballing journey as an 11-year-old playing for St Albans Dinamo when they were Maidstone and competing in the Industrial League – essentially what is now become the Victorian Sunday League.
In a senior career that started in 1986 at the age of 16 with two goals on debut against Croydon City, the club’s peak in Colina’s era was a VPL premiership in 1998, losing the grand final to Bulleen Inter Kings 2-3 with Danny Gnjidic scoring a double. He retired from playing in 2001.
“There were many highlights and it would take a while to go through them, but some that come to mind are scoring on debut, becoming captain at 19 when Branko Culina became our coach in 1989, having the best and fairest medal named after me was very humbling, and then being named in the club’s Hall Of Fame along with other club legends was something I hold very dear,” Colina said.
“Its again hard to name and single out the best player I ever played alongside as there were many, but one that I was very close to and still am was Velimir Kupresak, a true gentleman and I learned a lot from him.”
It just four years for Colina to transition from playing to senior coaching, with his first managerial role at Dinamo in 2005, taking over from Srecko Baresic-Nikic early in the VPL season. He was thrust into the role after a poor start to the season, and despite a late renaissance Colina’s side weren’t able to avoid relegation, finishing second last with Sunshine George Cross surviving just above them.
“The club approached me to see if I was interested in helping out, I was very green but it was a case of doing what I could to help the club out and given the poor start, we managed to collect 20 odd points to come a point short on the final round of the season.
“It was heartbreaking to think that if they had only drawn or won a game in those first nine games we could have managed the great escape. Nevertheless, we all learned from that experience and life went on.”
For a number of years thereafter Colina helped out at local side Gospic bears, before being appointed coach of the Melbourne Knights 20s in 2010. Yet just two years later he was back in the hot-seat of an under-pressure Dinamo, embarking on a State League One campaign having been relegated from the top flight again in 2011.
However, bouncing back wasn’t so easy, with the club finising ninth in 2012 and eighth a year later. With the implementation of the NPL in 2014, St Albans started life in the state’s reformatted second division by opting to appoint Steve Laurie alongside Toby Patterson.
“It was hard to leave the Knights where I began my first proper coaching role with the 20s but the opportunity to start a new era at St Albans with a new challenge of rebuilding the side was something that really got me interested,” he said.
“We knew it would be difficult but with a three-year plan in place and some good people at the helm, everyone was confident we could get St Albans back to a healthy standing with opportunities given to young boys and mixed in with some experienced players.
“It was challenging and it we always knew it would be, but like we all know in football, development and results are not friends and I guess over time some people lost patience with the staggered results, regardless of the numerous injuries to key people.
“It was easier to move me on and try something different, although it proved to not improve things. I hold no grudges, it’s football, life’s too short to carry negativity around with you, you move on, and I did.”
Commencing life in the NPL with Richmond’s 20s, it wasn’t long until Colina was back into a senior coaching role, but for the first time not with St Albans.
Replacing Ante Skoko after 10 rounds at North Geelong, the script couldn’t have been written better as his first contest for the Warriors was in round 11 against St Albans, which, satisfyingly, finished in a 3-0 win for Colina’s men.
When he took over, the Warriors were sitting in ninth spot. By the end of the season, they finished second and earned promotion to the top flight.
“I was very reluctant and asked many questions of North Geelong Warriors before I agreed to come on board. It took me about two weeks to make a call as I was really enjoying myself at Richmond, there were some great people there, and I learned a lot working with Grant Brebner and Micky Peterson.
“When we first sat down we had a long-term plan in place and the goal was to develop the side with the limited financial resources we have and push for promotion at the end of 2017 – well, it happened earlier than that I guess, twice.”
Despite relegation the next year, Colina was retained and oversaw another resurgence as the 1992 VPL winners were once more promoted in 2016, again finishing second but this time going through the play-offs in the new conference system. In turn, Colina became the club’s most successful coach of the new millenium, embarking on two top-flight campaigns at Elcho Park.
“The key has been an overall change in culture around the whole place, not just the senior team, but the 20s and all the way down. NGWFC is a club that currently needs to rely on developing within and ensuring there is a constant pathway for young footballers to represent the senior team and hopefully beyond.
“It will take time but as long as we as a club is working towards developing good, honest, hard working footballers, NGWFC will have much to add the football community of Victoria and possibly beyond.”
While life back in the top tier has been once more tough for Colina’s side, sitting winless in 14th, it’s still relatively early days and a win against St Albans could act as a springboard for a later run of results. Regardless of the outcome against his former club, good memories remain for the 46-year-old.
“It will be big on many fronts – to win our first game, to win at home, possibly be the best tonic to kickstart the season and give the boys some reward for their honest efforts to date,” he said.
“Most definitely I have many friends there, my kids play there, and at the end it’s a club I spent most of my life at with many many good memories, so it is always good to catch up and have a beer or two.”