By GRAHAM HARVEY
WHEN I arrived at Wynnum Wolves in May last year, it was clear the club had already done a lot right.
The previous coaches deserve real credit for getting the Wolves into the NPL and, just as importantly, keeping them there.
My job now is about the next step – building belief that this group can genuinely compete for trophies.
It’s still early days.
We’ve had a long pre-season and there’s plenty of improvement left in this squad, but I’ve been really pleased with how the boys have adapted to what we’re asking of them.
The commitment has been there from day one, and that’s a non-negotiable for me.
Our Kappa Cup Pro Series opener against St George Willawong showed what we’re capable of when things click.
A 6–0 win is always pleasing, but what stood out for me was how the goals were shared across the group.
That’s important.
You want players finding confidence early, and you want multiple threats across the park.
I think the work we did before that match played a big part.
We brought the group back in October, earlier than most NPL clubs, and that extra time together has helped.
The trip to Christchurch was also invaluable.
Spending five days living in each other’s pockets builds connections on and off the field, and you can’t underestimate how important that is when the season starts.
The loss to Lions on the weekend was disappointing on the scoreboard, but I took a lot of positives from the performance.
We created enough chances to win the game and were undone late by a set piece – one we cleared before it came back at us.
For me, the big takeaway was belief.
This group needs to trust how good they can be and back the way we want to play.
The adaptability we showed in our systems was encouraging, even if the result didn’t go our way.
Friday night’s trip to Ipswich will be another good test.
Away games on a Friday are never easy, and Ipswich are in a bit of a regeneration phase with a new coach, so you don’t always know exactly what’s coming.
My focus, though, is on us – making sure the boys are prepared, resilient, and ready to implement our plans.
We want to get back to winning straight away and continue building momentum.
One player who has caught the eye early is Fernando Nash.
He’s doing exactly what we brought him to the club to do – score goals.
He’s most effective in and around the penalty area, but what’s impressed me just as much is his willingness to adapt without the ball.
That’s something he knows he needs to keep working on, and he’s bought into it.
He’s also fitted into the group well, which matters just as much as what you do on the pitch.
Balancing results and development in the Kappa Pro Series is always a challenge because it comes so early in the season.
We want to win every competition we enter, but we also need to get minutes into players and prepare properly for the year ahead.
The aim is simple – get results, see where we land in the group, and put ourselves in the best possible position.
We’ve lost Jacob (Krayem) and Jez (Lofthouse) temporarily to the Oceanic Pro League, and while that’s a loss on the field, it’s also a success story for the club.
It shows there are genuine pathways here.
Those boys will end up playing 30 to 40 games across the year, which is huge for their development, and they’ll come back better players.
So, what does success look like this season?
Competing in every competition, every fixture.
If we do that consistently, the results will take care of themselves.
And if we can win something along the way, even better.
