Napier City Rovers are set to end a two-decade absence from football's National League. As they prepare for their return to the big time, coach Bill Robertson talks to Neil Reid about the challenge ahead

A player locked out of New Zealand for two years has been central to Napier City Rovers' return to the National League.

And fans of the team will be hoping Jonny McNamara again plays a big role for the only provincial-based team in New Zealand Football's top domestic league when the competition kicks off next month.

Napier City Rovers are back in the domestic top flight as a standalone team 20 years after an earlier revamp of the league saw Hawke's Bay United represent the region in the team.

The Bill Robertson-coached team secured its return following a top four finish in the Central League. The 10-team competition also features the top four teams from the Northern League, as well as the two highest-finishers in the Southern League.

McNamara's name became a regular sight on the Napier City Rovers' scoring sheet as the season progressed, with the Englishman wasting little time in making up for two years when he was locked out of New Zealand after borders were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"He played for us in 2019 when we won the Chatham Cup, went home to see his family and friends for two weeks . . . well that was the plan . . . and the Covid hit when he was away and the borders were closed," Robertson told the Herald.

"Because of Covid, he couldn't get back in. We had been working on getting Jonny back to the club for the last two years.

"The plan was to nip back home and then be ready for the start of the next season.

"Literally, the day he came in was the first day that he was able to return when the borders were opened to the UK."

McNamara was Napier City Rovers' joint top-scorer in the Central League, with nine, alongside Canadian import Leaford Allen.

McNamara arrived four games into the season, while Allen arrived after the Rovers had played five matches.

"With Jonny coming back in, and then a week later Leaford coming in was massive," Robertson – who hails from Manchester but has called New Zealand home since 2007 - said.

"Those two have been significant for the successes of our season, just as others have had. Their goals have helped make the difference."

When the National League kicks off next month, Napier City Rovers will lineup against Auckland City, Birkenhead United, Auckland United, Melville United, Wellington Olympic, Wellington Phoenix Reserves, Miramar Rangers, Christchurch United and Cashmere Technical.

Making it back onto domestic football's highest stage has been the goal since New Zealand Football revealed in late 2020 a pending restructure that the National League would go back to being club-based, signalling the end of the road for Hawke's Bay United and Canterbury United.

"It has been a long time in the planning," Robertson said. "To have finally got there and achieved what we set out to feels pretty special for the club.

"I am pleased for all the players, the club, the club volunteers who have obviously been waiting for Napier City Rovers to get back into National League for 20 years. I am pleased for everyone at the club who has contributed."

Fourth place was secured with a 3-1 win over Western Suburbs in the second to last round of the Central League.

Given what was up for grabs, Robertson said there had been a "sense of relief" within the camp when their qualification was confirmed with a match to spare.

"The boys had a good evening . . . . it was a weight off the shoulders and now the boys can start planning for a National League campaign."

The draw for the National League is yet to be made public.

But Napier City Rovers are expected to have four home games and five away games in the 2022 National League.

And the away trips should be a lot more comfortable travel-wise compared to what the squad has endured during the Central League.

Away matches against the eight Wellington-based teams involved leaving in a bus at 6.30am on game day, before the return bus leg after the match.

"I guess the professionalism of the travel will ramp up a little bit," Robertson said.

"We won't have to sit on a bus for six hours before a game. Hopefully, we can have accommodation and fly to games. Although we are going a bit further, flights and accommodation are usually covered by New Zealand Football."

But what awaits Napier City Rovers will be a step up in class from the majority of teams they have faced in the Central League.

The other nine clubs enjoy both a much bigger player catchment area, and in some cases much bigger financial backing than what Napier City Rovers operate with.

Christchurch United are backed by Russian-born multi-millionaire Slava Meyn. He is also the club's president and previously bankrolled a dedicated football venue and academy in Christchurch.

And Trillian Trust's 2021 annual report shows favourites Auckland City received more than $500,000 in money from the gaming machine trust in the 2021 financial year.

Auckland City didn't lose a game on their way to winning the National League.

"The standard of the competition will go up a few levels now, we are taking on some of the best teams in the country," he said.

"The biggest thing is the player base here. There isn't as big a catchment as there is in Auckland and the other major centres. So for a team from the Hawke's Bay, the only provincial representation, we are very proud of what we've done."

During Robertson's coaching tenure of Napier City Rovers the club won the Central League in 2015 and 2018, as well as the Chatham Cup in 2019.

While they are likely to be listed as underdogs against some of the more-fancied opposition, Robertson said what awaited was a challenge that the entire club's playing and coaching staff would relish.

"They want to test themselves against the best players in the country and they will get to do that.

"We would like to think we bat above our average and we will certainly give it go [in the National League]."

And there's every possibility Robertson will be part of the playing group over the next three months.

The 38-year-old played more than 150 times for the Napier City Rovers before concentrating fully on training and coaching programmes aimed at helping develop footballing youth in Hawke's Bay.

At club level, that means coaching the senior team as well as taking charge of the club's under-7s Sharks team.

But the unavailability of several players toward the end of the Central League saw him return to the field.

"I was always registered as a player all the way through," Robertson said.

"But as we lost a few players, particularly defensively, it was my assistant coach Stu James who was pushing me to put my boots back on. A couple of the senior players were keen for me to do it as well.

"I ended up stepping in for a few games to help the team . . . it worked out okay in the end. I was pleased to support the group from a playing point of view, as well as a coaching point of view."

Clubs in the National League can not feature any players who were not registered to them during the Northern, Central and Southern leagues.

The amateur status of domestic football here meant it was a huge commitment for those involved to juggle the sport with family and work commitments all the way through to December.

Robertson – who won National League titles as a player with Team Wellington – said the likelihood of him playing in the upcoming league would revolve around the availability of other players.

"We have to take stock and reassess where we are at," he said. "The squad we had [in Central League] is the squad we will have for the National League.

"We have a certain number of players that we can roll with for nine National League games so we have to find the right balance and see what it looks like moving forward."