Football Wagga have welcomed in a new football operations manager following their annual general meeting. Adam Raine has stepped into the role, taking over from Dave Merlino, in his first position on the Football Wagga board. Moving to Wagga from Dubbo in early 2022, Raine has been involved with the sport and its administration for many years. Excited to bring in fresh eyes to the position, Raine said he's hoping to bring meaningful and positive change to the local soccer landscape. "I've always volunteered in football committees and clubs wherever we lived, and been involved with football for over 15 years now, whether it be coaching or managing," Raine said. "We volunteered where we used to live on the previous board, helping out and just to make sure things run smoothly." Seeing through two years in Wagga now, Raine said he felt like it was time to start giving back to the sport, now confident in his knowledge of the local competition. MORE LOCAL SPORT NEWS The role is one of the biggest on the board, with Raine's responsibilities including club scheduling from miniroos through to seniors, overseeing field and equipment conditions, and ensuring player safety. With plenty of work ahead of him, on a game day, players and spectators might not even realise how much he's done to get them there. "I'm making sure everyone has a good day basically, and that they have fun and be competitive," he said. "Making sure the crowds are there for the right reasons too." One of several new faces on the board for the 2024 season, Raine believes fresh eyes are imperative to keeping an organisation functioning in the best way possible. "I've got some ideas, because we've been here for two years now and seen how things are run, going forward I've got some ideas that I'd like to bring to make the game run smoother and take some pressure off other people having to do things," he said. "There's different experiences that we've had, being from Dubbo things were run totally different to what they're run here. "There's some good points and some bad points but I try and bring all the good points and see how things can be a bit smoother, easier, and fairer for everyone. "Realistically, I don't know anyone here, so there's no bias from me as to certain people will get certain conditions and others won't, it's all a level playing field. "Change is always good, and if we can make it better for everyone, that's good, rather than this is how we've always done it, there can be better ways to do things and that's what I'm hoping to bring to the table." Excited to hold the position, Raine said he's also expecting it to be a huge challenge, and he's ready to take it on. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: