Valentine coach Adam Hughes keen to play on in 2023

Last in 2021, Valentine made a sharp improvement this year to finish seventh - just three points outside the top five.

That rise came despite 40-year-old Hughes, still one of their best players, making just three appearances before breaking his arm in a collision against Weston on April 24.

The break did not heal properly, ending the former Perth and Adelaide A-League player's campaign.

Another former professional, Dean Heffernan, 42, also had a disrupted season with Valentine. He played just four games before a serious ankle injury ended his year.

Hughes said while Heffernan had gone back into retirement, he was keen to get back on the pitch next year.

"I'll play again," said Hughes, who's team start pre-season training on Tuesday night.

"My arm is just recovered now and still probably not 100 per cent yet, but I'll go around one more year."

As well as injuries to key players, Phoenix were hit harder than most by the persistent rain last season.

Their home ground of CB Complex hosted just four top-grade matches because of the weather and poor drainage. The consistent wash-outs gave Valentine a stacked schedule late in the season but they remained a top-five chance heading into the final round.

Valentine now have a new clubhouse as part of a multimillion redevelopment of the CB Complex. New fields should also be ready by April next year.

"Probably the biggest thing for us is the new facility," Hughes said.

"The clubhouse is now fully completed and the three full football pitches are getting done. The lightning is all up, so we'll have a top facility come next season.

"We might have to miss a few games to start with, but then we'll be back.

"I think if it was a smoother year [this season], a proper season and with less injuries and suspensions, I think we would have been up there in the end. But that's what happens in football sometimes."

In other news, sacked grand final-winning Jaffas coach Shane Pryce has returned to Charlestown, where he will again team up with James Pascoe.

Pryce, who also guided Jaffas to the 2021 premiership, was axed a week after Lambton defeated Maitland 1-0 in the decider last month.

He will be an assistant to incoming coach Pascoe at Charlestown, where Pryce was boss from 2014 to the end of 2017.

After leaving Azzurri, Pryce worked as a lower-grade coach and assistant to Pascoe at Jaffas. He took over when Pascoe stepped aside because of family commitments early in the 2021 campaign.

In player movements, Broadmeadow have picked up Sam Kamper from Weston, while newcomers New Lambton have recruited defender Sam Maxwell (Edgeworth) and striker Kent Harrison (Olympic).

Edgeworth, who have picked up Jacob Pepper and Andrew Pawiak in midfield, have lost Jackson Pereira to injury and Liam Wilson to Weston. Maitland defender Zach Thomas has joined Oakleigh in the Victorian NPL.

MORE IN SPORT:

WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.