Robina City hopeful signing of Curtis Stollery & Dean Wernerson will bring in more recruits
Robina City are hopeful the addition of two former Gold Coast United stars will spark further strengthening of their Gold Coast Premier League squad ahead of this year’s top-flight return.
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ROBINA City are hopeful the addition of former Gold Coast United duo Dean Wernerson and Curtis Stollery will spark further strengthening of their Gold Coast Premier League squad ahead of this year’s top-flight return.
Not seen in the Premier League since 2001, the Rabbits will join the eight-team competition this season after claiming the 2019 Coast League One championship and finishing runners-up to Southport in the grand final.
Their quest, which begins at home to Surfers Paradise on March 8, received a huge boost last week with the signing of Wernerson and Stollery, who were regular contributors for United in the NPL last season.
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Their arrival at Robina Common will help cover the loss of goalkeeping cult hero Winnie Tukariri and midfielder Aaron Bull, with a number of other key figures from 2019 still weighing up their futures.
Coach Nathan Mulhearn said while he was comfortable with the talent at his disposal, he hoped news of his new recruits may prompt others to join the Robina revival.
“Players will come now because we’ve got those players,” Mulhearn, who has also signed English midfielder Adam Bilcock from Exmouth Town, said.
“Dean did a little bit with us at the end of the year once his commitments with Gold Coast United had finished. He came and trained with us and I’ve known Dean since he first started playing at Nerang when he was 15.
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“He’s mates with Curtis and he wanted Curtis to come along as well. They liked the direction Robina were heading and we were able to get the deal over the line.
“We’ve been a little bit in limbo knowing who was staying around from last year and who was coming in. We’ve probably had 70-odd players at training that have come and gone or stayed with us.
“It’s a bit of a silly season in January with people floating around. The next week or so will tell us a lot about where we’re at.
“We already had Trent Barwick on board again and we signed Adam Bilcock from the UK. He’ll probably be one of the better players in the league.”
Despite their versatility, Mulhearn said Wernerson would be used at the back and Stollery in the midfield as part of a Robina line-up he believes can mount a serious finals assault.
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“We have the players that we’ll be able to challenge for the top four. With an eight-team league that’s what you’ve got to do,” he said.
“Robina are a big club, they’ve got plenty of junior and the biggest senior participation on the Coast so it’s a matter of ensuring a club so big is in the Premier League each year and near that top half.”
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