The Illawarra District League kicks off this weekend with all clubs starting the season with high expectations and hopes. We anticipate the usual suspects will be up there battling it out, however, how things will finish up in September is nothing more than a guess. Lets take a closer look at the squads this year.
BALGOWNIE RANGERS
Balgownie Rangers would have been disappointed to finish seventh last year. A disrupted season combined with many congested catch-up games caused Rangers to slip out of finals contention.
They are determined to make amends in 2025. Having lost Coach Luke Buckley to South Coast Flame, the Rangers have turned to Justin Potter who himself has had extensive playing experience in the Illawarra.
The Rangers still have influential and former Neville Arrowsmith Medal winner Jackson Dummett in their midfield. Anthony Oliver will continue to marshall their defence.
The club has signed Jayden Salucci who will lead their frontline whilst the Rangers also picked up goalkeeper Tim Walsh from Warilla Wanderers. The club is expecting big things from Nicola Mattiuzzo who previously played his football in Italy. The nippy midfielder is studying in Australia and could well help bring playoff football to Judy Masters Oval.
BELLAMBI ROSELLAS
Bellambi got off to a perfect start in 2024 with three straight wins before a bit of a roller coaster ride mid-season capped with six straight losses to end the year. They would be hoping for a bit more consistency this year with former player Aaron Piercy taking the reins.
The Rosellas were led well by their visa contingent last season who together scored more than half the team’s goals. Luis Gonzales, who averaged a goal a game, remains at Elizabeth Park this season. He will no doubt be key to the Rosella’s chances of having a successful season.
With Maurice Aloegninou marshalling the defence and midfielder Lucas Bond controlling the midfield, the Rosellas maintained their spine. They have recruited Shoya Nanri and Josh Broughton from the suburban leagues and they have shown that they fit in well in pre-season.
Whilst Bellambi may not have the depth to perhaps challenge for the top places, they will likely surprise a few teams.
BERKELEY SPORTS
Berkeley Sports will be looking to put an unfortunate 2024 season behind them as they reset themselves for 2025. Coach Glenn Dorrian will be looking for more consistency from his squad as they look to match it against the contenders this year.
The Goats have lost one of the highest-profile players we have ever seen in the District League with former J-League player Ryosuke Matsuoka ending his time in Australia.
The club has picked up youngsters Preston Ridley and Brent McCance (Wollongong United), and the experienced Dylan Mena-Naydovski (Port Kembla). They also welcome back Luke Boersma following a stint with Unanderra.
The young Goats (Youth Grade) had a great season last year and the club has shown faith in a few of these youngsters with the view to playing them in the First team. One of those is Captain Ronan Mezedi.
There is no doubt that Berkeley has a competitive squad and if they can keep it together, they may just be up there for a photo finish.
CORRIMAL RANGERS
There are wholesale changes at Memorial Park this season following the club’s relegation from Premier League.
Stan Pappas takes the reins at Corrimal with renewed hope and high aspirations. The club appears to have started afresh with almost a whole new squad.
A lot of their attacking hopes will fall on Jackson Dent who gets his opportunity in the top grade after being 2024 to scorer in Premier League Second Grade playing for Tarrawanna.
It’s a mix of youth and experience with 31-year-old Italian native, Cosimo Nappi likely to prove to be a thorn for opponents as one of the strongest goalkeepers in the league. The experience of Mitchell Cooper could also be telling as the Rangers look to bounce back this year.
Finals football will be the minimum expectation for Corrimal this year although they will be hoping for a strong start as they launch their new campaign.
FERNHILL FOXES
The Foxes were unlucky not to have won promotion last season however, they put that aside and did the job in the Grand Final.
Coach Dale White finished up with the club last year but left a solid platform for new rookie head coach Matthew Schembri to continue their charge.
Amongst the departures are 2024 Neville Arrowsmith Medal Runner Up – Seamus Christopher Dowd (Sydney), District League 2024 Goalkeeper of the Year – Yuki Yasada (returned to Japan), and Keegan Matias (Cringila).
Fernhill has recruited well welcoming back Mitch Turner from South Coast Flame, Luke Foster (Bulli), Josh Crapis, and Lachlan Calder (Port Kembla). The Foxes also picked up former Macarthur Bulls Under 20 Goalkeeper Callum Williams-Paroli and influential midfielder Joaquin Aravena (Gerringong Breakers).
The club is celebrating its 100th anniversary and will hope that milestone is capped with a League Championship. They will start the season as favourites.
GERRINGONG BREAKERS
Norm Boardman takes charge of the Breakers this season with son and protégée Brad finding it difficult to commit due to work commitments.
Since earning promotion, the Breakers have had several solid seasons including a finals appearance last year. If they are serious about winning the league, they will need to show the consistency of perhaps some of the top teams.
Former Neville Arrowsmith Medal winner Josh Hawker is one of the club’s key players and this season, he will be supported by American Alex Galbraith (South Coast United).
The club has a good youth and pathway program, and they will be looking for several of those youngsters to start pushing for first-team opportunities.
Following the loss of midfielder Joaquin Aravena to Fernhill, a lot more is expected from the likes of Kieran Brodnik and Jacob Carney.
Expect the Breakers under Norm to be a tough proposition and although mid-table will be a respectable finish, they will no doubt be aiming higher.
PICTON RANGERS
2024 was a season the bushpigs would want to put behind them.
Brett Morley has been summoned back to Hume Oval to help get the Rangers back on track.
There is plenty of experience at Picton with the likes of Craig Cooley, Jesse Kennedy, Tyler Snelgrove, Daniel Nelson, Scott Miranda and Brad Durrant at the club. The club has also picked up the versatile and tricky Yuto Sato from Sydney.
The Rangers make the longest trip in Illawarra football in Round one as they travel to Shoalhaven.
Whilst we can expect a more competitive Rangers outfit in 2025, there are question marks over their ability to maintain a high standard across 22 rounds. The Rangers play away for a significant part of the first half of the season. Every point away from home could well feel like a win.
SHOALHAVEN FC
Shoalhaven will have been quite pleased with their first season back in the Men’s Premiership competitions having finished a respectable third place.
One of the keys to their success was their home form where they only lost twice at Ison Park. They will be hoping to make home a fortress again.
Shoalhaven’s success was also built through their depth. They have lost two of their young talents in Logan Connell and Jaxon Scholtz to the Premier League, however, coach Nathan Aldridge has managed to lure the pacey Matthew Kellett to the club and has some young ex-Premier League players in Doug Gray and Jack Scotcher at his disposal.
With just a few changes to the squad, we can expect Shoalhaven to pick up where they left off last year. They will likely be up there or thereabouts and if they can pick up a few more away results, they may just see themselves back in the Premier League sooner rather than later.
THIRROUL THUNDER
Thunder have consistently finished in the top half of the competition over the last decade. They welcome back Joel Mucci and Daniel Arthur who have returned from a gap year. Thirroul also secured the services of experienced and former Helensburgh shot stopper Matt Wardle.
The club bid farewell to Ryan Latini and Todd Davidson who both retired after more than a decade’s service at Thirroul.
Thirroul have always taken pride in putting together three competitive grades and they are delighted to see several of their talented Youth players who have come through their club pathway getting first grade opportunities.
The experienced club stalwart and incoming coach John Cropper will no doubt be looking to make the playoffs again, however, competition this year appears to be so much more unpredictable.
UNANDERRA HEARTS
Steven Dimitrievski has swapped the green for the maroon this year as he looks to start afresh at Unanderra Oval. Having spent 2014-2015 as a player at Unanderra, Dimitrievski is charged with getting Unanderra to genuinely challenge for the top places.
The Maroons narrowly missed the playoffs last year and judging by their new signings, they mean business. Goalkeeper and former Falcon Claude D’Alessio takes the gloves whilst Brandon Oliveira, Aleksander Najdoski and Gaku Yamamoto all have followed Dimitrievski to Unanderra from Bellambi.
Unanderra will be led by Luke Picciolini whist some other experienced players like William Mobbs and Christian Plakias will no doubt try and lead from the front. The club has also recruited NPL players Rafael Jacome Lara from Dulwich Hill and defender Tomas Hermez from Granville Rage.
Unanderra have the firepower and squad to match it with anyone in the league however a lot will come down to their consistency and ability to keep all players on the park.
UNIVERSITY FC
The students have had a few lean years in recent times and will be hoping for a change in fortune in 2025.
University has a mix of youth and experience in their squad this year. Young goalkeeper Micah Leimbach will be tested whilst the experience of Cameron Hansen and Anthony Gigliotti will be required to lead some of the younger players.
Coaches Charlie Farr and Joshua Tobia must get the side to gel quickly. It looks like a very open competition and every game will be just as crucial as the next.
With several players promoted from their Community League teams, University FC hopes that they can adapt to the pace and physicality of the District League.
University FC have been given a tough opening draw with some of this year’s contenders on their schedule inside the opening six weeks. If they can get positive results early, they will likely grow in confidence. This period could be telling for the students.
WARILLA WANDERERS
The Wanderers have had a slightly disruptive start to their season, however they will no doubt look to build on their 8th place finish in 2024.
Warilla have worked hard to tighten their defence and they have already shown in preseason, they will be more difficult to break down. Jack Fowler and Jake Bailey are starting to find their feet at King Mickey Park.
The work rate of Lance Condello and Martin Castelli in midfield will benefit their front line players which include the experience of Jack Murray and Jacob Lester.
If some of Warilla’s preseason efforts are to go by, there is some optimism at King Mickey Park. Not sure Warilla have the depth to match it over 22 rounds but one thing is for sure, John Corbacho will have the boys fired up every match.
