Kanwal Warnevale Rovers Football Club, known as the Bulls, are one of the Central Coast’s most prominent football teams, and are debuting at the Kanga Cup with an overriding focus on enjoying the game.
Having entered a formidable Under-14 boys outfit to represent Kanwal at their first cup, Coach and Committee member Damien Miller says his side have met their involvement with enthusiasm.
“This is Kanwal’s first time at the Kanga Cup, so yeah I think they’re enjoying the experience, it’s a good bonding session for them and they’re learning a lot from it, they’re having a lot of fun,” Miller said.
The club hails from the Central Coast of New South Wales (NSW), a region where the sport is firmly embedded within the community.
“Kanwal is a small suburb, a bit of a beachside area of the Central Coast, so a very nice area, and it’s a pretty cruisy, laid-back area as well,” Miller explained. “Soccer [there] has the highest participation rates of any major code of sports, so it’s fairly well represented.”
With the sport so popular in the local area, the Bulls’ competition for players is immense, however despite this, the club remains one of the most respected outfits within the Central Coast Football Association.
“Kanwal is probably one of the bigger clubs in the area especially for junior numbers, so it is very popular,” Miller said. “We’ve got about 850 registered players across the whole club, which is fairly high for that area.
“There’d be at least 30 teams on the Central Coast, so we’d be in the top quarter of that percentage with registered players.”
The positive club culture and principles established may be a significant reason for the extensive number of members at Kanwal FC, as it seeks to focus on enjoyment over all else.
“It’s a grassroots, family-oriented club, and we just try to teach the kids the basics,” Miller commented. “It’s more about the lifestyle of football too, it’s not always just about winning and losing, as long as they’re having fun and making friends.
“We’ve got quality coaches there in the junior ranks… it’s a good environment to be around too.”
The Under-14 boys will be representing one of the Central Coast’s biggest clubs in the 2024 edition of the Kanga Cup and enter the tournament having developed a significant amount of resilience over the past few years together.
“The first two years we were in the B competition which is the second tier down, and we made the Grand Final both years in a row, unfortunately we lost both of those grand finals,” Miller said. “This year we’ve got into the top division, which is the A grade, and we’ve been quite competitive.
“We’re coming fifth at the moment on the ladder, so they’re going very well, they’ve stepped up to the challenge of playing in a harder competition and they’re holding their own.”
All in all the decision for Kanwal to enter the Kanga Cup has been a correct one, with Miller’s side fully embracing all aspects of the tournament, all the while growing closer as a squad.
“The boys are loving it, yesterday we had two games back-to-back, I don’t know if they enjoyed that as much, but yeah they’re definitely enjoying it,” he said. “I think they’re just enjoying being around each other too, we’re all staying in the same complex so they’re spending a lot of time outside of football together and yeah they’re really enjoying each other’s company, and hopefully it builds a bit of comradery amongst them all.”
Words: Sam Watson
