Former Central Coast Mariners captain Nick Montgomery is relishing a new role with Wollongong Wolves after making his debut for the PS4 NPL club over the weekend.
The 35-year-old midfielder made his first appearance for Wollongong on Sunday, a 2-0 win over Rockdale City Suns at WIN Stadium.
Mariners skipper announces retirement
Montgomery announced his retirement from professional football on Friday night at the Mariners Medal presentation, with the former Sheffield United midfielder set to become Central Coast's Head of Football and Elite Performance.
He ends his A-League career with 116 appearances for the Mariners and an A-League champions medal from his first season in 2012-13.
"I've had a good career up to now and, you know, I could have played on in the A-League or gone to Asia for another season but a new role at the Mariners came up - a head of football role - and I just thought it's a good time to step down from the pro game on my own terms after having a good season," Montgomery told Goal.com
The Wolves have secured Montgomery's services for the final 13 rounds of the 2017 NPL NSW season, although the veteran midfielder reckons he has at least one more year of semi-pro football left in him beyond that.
Having been impressed by the likes of ex-Leeds United youth player Patrick Antelmi and former Western Sydney Wanderers striker Josh Macdonald against Rockdale, Montgomery is looking forward to "mentoring young players".
"I just needed to get in there and provide a bit of leadership and talking to the boys on the field, and I felt I did that well yesterday," he said.
"The boys performed really well and worked hard for each other, and we got a 2-0 win, which was more than deserved."
Wollongong, who are coached by former Sydney FC defender Jacob Timpano, sit eighth in the NPL NSW table.