The Wellington Phoenix men’s reserves are back in action, with their Dettol Central League 2025 campaign beginning this weekend.
The 18-match competition will see them play each of the other nine sides in the league home and away, with Upper Hutt City first up this Saturday at Fraser Park.
While the key focus for the academy side is always development, a largely settled squad are eyeing an improvement on last year’s fifth-place finish.
“It’s always about looking forward,” head coach Chris Greenacre said.
“The group I’ve got have had a year of understanding how I work, how we want to work within our system, and what it takes to replicate what would happen in the professional environment.
“The day to day things of training, looking after your body, being in the gym, the psychological aspect of high-performance sport.
“Hopefully we can improve on last year, having all this knowledge behind us.
“We have to always remember that it’s not all about winning, but a big part of it is still winning.
“We’re at a point now with my group where it’s not about handing out jerseys to everybody. You’ve got to earn that place.
“We can push on, and then the new players underneath are going to attach themselves to that and hopefully the process continues, and we can see even more young players pushing on to our first team environment.”
Some unorthodox hurdles have not stopped the Nix from enjoying a “very positive” pre-season, including matches against the Fiji and New Caledonia national teams.
“We’ve been unfortunate with some long-term injuries that have carried over from last season.
“Players have had tonsils and wisdom teeth out, unexpected injuries that you don’t account for. That’s been difficult to juggle.
“On the flipside, we’ve been able to bring some younger players into the environment, and it’s been invaluable.
“Training with my group, playing some really strong pre-season games against Fiji and New Caledonia, we’ve exposed them to a different level of football which has been great.”
Although some reserve team standouts from last year have earned senior contracts, such as attacker Nathan Walker and fullback Xuan Loke, Greenacre sees the turnover as a positive.
He also expects that some first teamers will feature for the reserve side during the season.
“If they’re eligible, they’ll be called upon. It’s in everyone’s interest for them to put their best foot forward, be playing regularly, and have as much game time as they possibly can.
“We’ve seen a high number of players achieve that recently. It shows the signs that the club is progressing and looking to the future when my group disintegrates.
“You feel like you’re starting all over again, even though you’ve got a nucleus of players who have been with you for a year.
“It shows the club is forward thinking, and we want to push our young players into the first team environment earlier than normal.
“It’s our job in the academy space to get the players to that level so they can become first team players, and hopefully fully fledged international players.
“The job’s trying to get players ready for the expectations of the first team environment and the first team staff.”
The potential of selection for the U-20 World Cup in Chile this September looms as an extra incentive for players to perform during the Central League campaign.
“It should be the motivation. There will be some disappointed figures at the end, and it’s not the be-all and end-all for me.
“There are many avenues you can see as success, and if it’s not one it can be the other.
“But they should all be motivated, chomping at the bit to be included.”
And Greenacre certainly sees the potential for a successful season, both and and off the pitch.
“What we do have now is experience. You certainly hope that the players benefit from that experience.
“I think early on in other seasons, there have been quite a few individual errors, and there haven’t quite been the results we wanted.
“The players are much better for those experiences, and the way they work through that.
“In pre-season we’ve tried to minimise those errors, and the players know that the learning is actually on the field.
“Even if you don’t get the results that you should, the lessons you learn are so important if you’re going to progress into the professional world.”
The Wellington Phoenix reserves begin their Dettol Central League campaign against Upper Hutt City at 12.30pm on Saturday, March 29. All home games will be streamed live and free on FIFA+.
Wellington Phoenix men’s reserves – Dettol Central League fixtures (home fixtures in bold)
Round 1 – Saturday, March 29 vs Upper Hutt City, Fraser Park – 12:30pm
Round 2 – Saturday, April 5 @ Island Bay United, Wakefield Park – 3:30pm
Round 3 – Saturday, April 12 vs Napier City Rovers, Fraser Park – 1pm
Round 4 – Saturday, April 19 @ Miramar Rangers, David Farrington Park – 2:30pm
Round 5 – Saturday, April 26 vs Petone FC, Fraser Park – 3pm
Round 6 – Saturday, May 3 @ Wellington Olympic, Wakefield Park – 3:45pm
Round 7 – Saturday, May 10 @ Western Suburbs, Endeavour Park – 12:30pm
Round 8 – Saturday, May 17 @ North Wellington, Alex Moore Park – 3pm
Round 9 – Saturday, May 24 vs Waterside Karori, Fraser Park – 3pm
Round 10 – Saturday, June 7 @ Upper Hutt City, Maidstone Park – 3pm
Round 11 – Saturday, June 21 vs Island Bay United, Fraser Park – 3pm
Round 12 – Sunday, June 29 @ Napier City Rovers, Bluewater Stadium – 2pm
Round 13 – Saturday, July 12 vs Miramar Rangers, Fraser Park – 3pm
Round 14 – Saturday, July 19 @ Petone FC, Petone Memorial Park – 3pm
Round 15 – Saturday, August 2 vs Wellington Olympic, Fraser Park – 3pm
Round 16 – Saturday, August 9 vs Western Suburbs, Fraser Park – 5pm
Round 17 – Saturday, August 23 vs North Wellington, Fraser Park – 3pm
Round 18 – Saturday, August 30 @ Waterside Karori, venue TBC – 2:30pm
