Woden-Weston FC will channel the spirit of the Western Sydney Wanderers and hope the immediate success of the A-League side rubs off on its inaugural National Premier League campaign.
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Woden Valley has joined forces with Weston Molonglo FC to put together joint teams in the NPL from under-12s through to the senior divisions in both the men's and the women's competitions.
The clubs will continue to field separate teams in junior grades and also at state league level.
Former Canberra FC coach Miro Trninic has taken the reins of the men's NPL teams, while long-time Weston Molonglo coach Pat Mills has been appointed coach of the women's NPL team.
Woden-Weston FC has adopted a red and black jersey, incorporating the black and white of Weston Molonglo and the traditional red and blue of Woden Valley.
It means the jersey looks similar to the one worn by the Wanderers, who have had a remarkable rise in the club's infancy, winning the A-League premiership in its debut season, the grand final in season two and the Asian Champions League last year.
While Woden-Weston FC president John Brooks is wary of placing those sort of high expectations on his squad, he's hoping the Wanderers colours can be good luck.
"It'd be nice if it could rub off, being a new club," Brooks said.
"It's not like we can expect instant success perhaps, but we've got a good set of coaches and administrators and a lot of good young players from a lot of the pathway clubs.
"We hope to make a good account of ourselves this year."
Woden-Weston FC is one of two new teams in the Capital Football Men's NPL this season along with Gungahlin United.
The proposal was put forward in the middle of last year for Woden Valley to align itself with Weston Molonglo, given the huge junior base in the region.
"There wasn't much time to put it together for our application and we had to get on the same page fairly quickly," Brooks said.
"There were some good people on both sides who thought the same way and could see there was a lot of potential.
"Being a regional club in the Weston Molonglo and Woden Valley area seemed like a good idea and something we could make work."
Brooks was confident that Woden-Weston FC would be able to satisfy the requirements to be granted an extension on its one-year NPL licence.
Woden-Weston FC continued its preparations with a 1-1 draw against the ANU State League team at the AIS on Sunday.
