Winning formula: The mateship and values driving Napier City Rovers up the National League ladder
Defender Jack Albertini on how hard work and a commitment to back your mates is helping Napier City Rovers. Neil Reid reports.
Team culture can play a huge part in whether a sporting side sticks together when the going gets tough or falls apart.
Talent isn’t always enough to succeed in high-pressure situations.
Often what can count for more is an unfailing belief, respect and trust in your teammates and a commitment to dig deeper than what your normal role on the pitch requires.
And it is those qualities that have come to the fore for Napier City Rovers during their impressive and unbeaten start to New Zealand Football’s top-tier domestic competition.
After two rounds – including an opening-round win over Western Springs and Sunday’s gutsy 2-2 draw with Eastern Suburbs - the Bill Robertson-coached team is in second place on the points table.
Last weekend’s draw saw the side fight back twice from being behind, with the never-say-die attitude the team has shown so often seeing them come close several times to scoring a late winner.
Teen defender Jack Albertini said the positive culture running through the side had its beginnings during the pre-season.
“We’re all mates at the end of the day,” he said.
“We talked about some values at the start of the year and we’ve stuck to those, which is good. It’s a good environment.
“One of the important values is togetherness, trying to be courageous on the pitch and don’t be afraid to try things . . . just express yourself.”
They’re values the side lived by during the earlier Central League campaign; where they finished in third spot after fending off a late challenge from Miramar Rangers for National League qualification.
On Sunday, Napier City Rovers host the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in round-three action at Bluewater Stadium.
Along with cementing a strong team culture, qualifying and then having a good crack at the National League was one of the side’s pre-season goals.
“The National League is a great platform to show what we can do on the national level and represent the club in the region,” Albertini said.
“And it’s just fun as well; it gives us something to do during the summer and stay together as a group.”
Aged just 19, Albertini has been a leading light when it comes to maintaining high standards during the 2024 season.
He debuted for the club last year, having earlier played about 60 senior games for Havelock North’s men’s team since the age of 15.
At the time the now-defunct Hawke’s Bay United represented the region in the National League; a structure that then was based on franchise teams and not traditional clubs.
Once it went back to a club-based structure in 2021, Albertini said playing for Napier City Rovers in the competition was something he “did aspire” to.
The club didn’t qualify for the league that year, which was later cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But they did in 2022, then 2023 and now again this year.
The youngest member of the current side’s defensive group, he said it was great to join a squad featuring modern-day Napier City Rovers legends and defenders Jim Hoyle and Fergus Neil.
Training and playing alongside those two – part of the 2019 Chatham Cup-winning team – had been great for his confidence and development.
This year Stephen Hoyle and Matt Jones had added to the side’s defensive might.
“You get to learn from them, it’s great,” Albertini said. “They’re really good players, good defenders.”
Over the past three seasons, Albertini has also been one of several promising teens whose game time has meant Napier City Rovers have easily eclipsed NZF’s under-20 regulations.
Competition rules for the Northern, Central, Southern and National leagues state clubs must ensure a minimum of 10% of playing time is given to under-20 players on their rosters.
NZF introduced the rule as a pathway for young talent to try and develop.
Albertini said while it was a positive move for younger players, ultimately they had to be able to foot it around more senior players.
“Once you get on the field, you’ve got to take the opportunity yourself,” he said.
“I just go out, try my best, do what I can for the team.”
Albertini is highly respected by his peers at Napier City Rovers.
It was not just the team’s coaching staff and his teammates who were proud of how far Albertini has come in such a short space of time at Napier City Rovers.
So too were his family.
“Even when I was at Havelock, my granddad was saying, ‘Get yourself across the Rovers’,” he said.
“I have really enjoyed my time here and my grandparents and parents come to every game. It’s good to play in front of them.”
Albertini is firmly in the starting XI on merit, not because he fits in the under-20 age category.
Over the past two seasons, he’s held his own against older and vastly more experienced players at Central League and National League level.
His level of performance has been consistently strong; not only defending around his side’s penalty box, but also involving himself in surges up the pitch.
His ability and form – which recently won him Napier City Rovers’ Under-20 Player of the Year award – has not been lost on opposition clubs.
In good news for Napier City Rovers fans, the local talent said he was happy with where he was at and hadn’t received any approaches to go elsewhere that he’d describe as “tempting”.
Away from football, Albertini is employed as a lifeguard.
He’s also a keen gamer, regularly battling with teenage teammate Sam Lack for supremacy on EA Sports’ Fifa.
Albertini joked it was a split decision on who the gaming king was.
“I’d say myself,” he said. “Sam’s pretty adamant it’s him.”
Watch the Inside the Rovers video series:
Episode One: Back to Work
Episode Two: The Darkest Days
Episode Three: Skin Deep
Episode Four: Good as Gould
Episode Five: The Hard Yards
Episode Six: Leaving a Legacy
Episode Seven: Fun and Games
Episode Eight: Game Day
Episode Nine: The Great Dane
Episode 10: Back to Back
Episode 11: Long Road Back
Episode 12: Total Commitment
Episode 13: The Bravest Boy
Episode 14: Love of the Game
Episode 15: A Rapid Rise
Episode 16: Mixed Emotions
Episode 17: Cup Fever
Episode 18: 50-Year Love Affair
Episode 19: The Music Man
Episode 20: Sammy’s On Fire
Episode 21: A Burning Desire
Episode 22: Cup Heroics
Episode 23: The Captain
Episode 24: On The Road
Episode 25: A Heartbreaker
Episode 26: Oscar’s Big Chance
Episode 27: Fabulous Ferg
Episode 28: Bill and Ben’s Big Day
Episode 29: Better Than Before
Episode 30: The Ice Man
Episode 31: Sharp-shooter’s Return
Episode 32: Statement of Intent
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
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