The arrival of Jamie Lobb and a number of other experienced campaigners was always going to help Macquarie United, but few expected them to start the 2023 season as they have.
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Last season's wooden spooners made their Western Premier League rivals sit up and take notice when they defeated Bathurst 75 4-2 in round one, and then on Saturday they bounced back from a round two defeat in style.
A sweet strike from young gun Ethan Letfallah late on led those in blue to a shock 1-0 win over the previous unbeaten and highly-fancied Panorama FC in the round three meeting at No. 1 Oval.
It was another hugely satisfying performance for Lobb, who has taken on the captaincy this season after arriving at Dubbo following a long and successful NPL 1 career in Sydney.
"I've been impressed by not only Macquarie but the Western Premier League," Lobb said, having met previous Macquarie coach Rhys Osborne when he moved to Dubbo last year.
"Stability and a bigger squad, I think, is helping Macquarie this season. Rhys has brought in a few older heads in Jayden Barber and Mitch Kramer.
"That and probably another year of experience under the young fellas' belts who played last year. They were involved in some touch-ups but I think a lot of lessons were learned during that and we've been able to build and grow and mature and now we're seeing the rewards this year."
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Barber and Kramer have plenty of experience from playing in the Newcastle region and have provided real quality in the middle of the park, while Lobb has solidified things at the back.
One of the biggest off-season signings across the entire WPL, Lobb moved west last year with his Dubbo-born wife and young family.
He arrived at Macquarie having played close to 20 years in the NPL1.
After coming through the grades on the Central Coast and played at the Mariners academy, Lobb had stints with Sydney clubs APIA Leichardt, Manly and Northern Tigers.
He captained and won premierships with Manly and the Tigers and is enjoying sharing his wealth of experience with a young Macquarie side which endured a difficult 2022 campaign.
"I love it," he said of working with his youthful teammates.
"I'm definitely not at the start of my career, I'm at the back end of the career and I know how I can help on and off the field. That helps keep me going.
"To give the guys credit our here, they're really good. They listen, they take the instructions and execute to the best of their ability so that's all you can ask for."
The young legs in the team also means Macquarie works for the full 90 minutes and that was on show against Panorama.
The Bathurst side was previously unbeaten but was kept at bay throughout Saturday's clash at a wet No. 1 Oval.
Then, as it seemed things would end in a draw, Letfallah popped up with a super strike from the corner of the box to hand his side all three points.
"Before the season stared we set our expectations on trying to play finals football," Lobb said.
"That's still our goal and it should be every club's goal. It looks like it's going to be a tight competition so if you're not striving to play finals, motivation is heading in the wrong direction."
Lobb expects his side to be one of few sides to take all three points off Panorama this year and while the Bathurst side was down a couple of players on Saturday, it was a result to savour.
Macquarie had their own selection headaches as they had their two main goalkeepers missing as one was injured and the other was at a wedding, forcing outfield Justin Sutton to put on the gloves.
His performance helped Macquarie keep a rare clean sheet and Lobb joked he might have a hard time getting away from that position moving forward.
Lobb also praised the wet No. 1 Oval surface, saying it and Apex Oval are as good as anything he's previously played on at Sydney.
No. 1 Oval played host to a double-header on Saturday, with Macquarie's win followed by a fantastic Dubbo derby clash.
Dubbo FC and Orana Spurs played out a 4-all draw after 90 minutes where momentum swung back and forth.
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Nick Guthrie
I started working at the Daily Liberal in 2013 and now hold the position of senior sports journalist for Western NSW, covering all that's happening in in Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and everywhere in between. Contact me at nick.guthrie@acm.media
