Reflecting the Wolves’ strong relationship with their community, Southern NSW governing body Football South Coast publicly backed the club as their preference for a “standalone” bid. Wollongong also boast tenancy at the 23,000-capacity WIN Stadium, which in the age of boutique obsession, remains one of their unique selling points.

Papakosmas is quick to flaunt the potential for local derbies as another. While some might say a sixth New South Wales club is oversaturating the market, expanding to regional areas has presented significant difficulties.

He's hoping that at this stage of the competition, FFA are seeking to preach to the converted.

 

“We don’t see ourselves as having any local rivals for our submission,” Papakosmas asserts. “What we’re putting together and what we’re going to provide is a standalone entity representing the region – catering for the needs of football boys and girls and fans across our area.

“Football South Coast publicly said their preference is a Wolves standalone bid so our juniors can play national competition in their backyard. There’s no better venue then WIN Stadium and we have three generations of fans. We’ll quickly develop a considerable fan base and we’re confident we’ll be most people’s second team anyway.

“The inclusion of the Wolves brings a whole mix of ready-made local derbies that are a marketers dream. Newcastle, Central Coast, Sydney, Wanderers and even an East-Coast - West-Coast against Perth.

“No other sport can put that on the table, no other team can offer the level of romance and marketability that the Wolves can.”