The new look Premier League 3 kicks off this week with several clubs keen to gain promotion through the local football pyramid. Let’s take a closer look at the competing clubs.
Highlands FC
Coached by Nathan Macgraw, Highlands is a new side that is backed by the Highlands FA. Playing out of the picturesque David Wood Oval, expect Highlands to be difficult to beat at home.
Blake Friedrich has Premier League experience and will be one of the club’s key players as they look to make a charge.
The team played its first competitive hit out a couple of weeks ago after they were eliminated from the Bert Bampton Cup by Albion Park White Eagles. The team competed well against one of the top teams in PL1.
There are promotional ambitions for the club, although we expect that they might need a year or two to establish themselves. They should finish in the top half of the table.
They face a tough opening match as they visit Shellharbour City on Friday night.
Figtree FC
It’s been over 30 years since Figtree were last in the Men’s Premiership space where they were once a force.
Coached by Aaron Kellaway, the club have formed a playing group that is a mix of youth and mature age players. There isn’t a great deal of experience in the squad and the primary goal has been to establish a pathway and link for their large junior base. In fact, many of the junior players train with the senior squads for the experience.
The Reyes brothers return to Figtree as they look to set the platform for the remainder of the squad.
It has been a tough preseason for Figtree who perhaps still need several more weeks to gel and develop.
Figtree will do well to make the playoffs in a season where development is the priority.
First up for Figtree is Albion Park FC, away.
Coledale Waves
The Waves have kept a core playing group that finished fourth last season. They have a blend of youth with experience.
Look for Liam Chilton and Ryan Empson to have big seasons, whilst Mitchell Ferraro will likely be a key player in midfield.
Coledale have goals in them. Columbian Eduardo Bateman will also likely be a go-to man, but it’s at the other end, Coledale will need to show some resilience if they are to challenge.
The club is just happy to be part of the Premier League set-up, and it sets a great platform for their juniors to aspire to.
Whilst finals football would be great in their first year, Coledale no doubt just want to be competitive, and we expect a mid-table finish.
Coledale have the bye in round one, and they face Woonona in their opening game the week after.
Albion Park FC
There are high expectations at Terry Reserve for Albion Park FC. They finished second in the Community League competition last season.
Coached by Jeff Allport, Albion Park features several handy players. Captain Toby Learmont has some NPL experience with Nepean, whilst there are also the likes of Boden Allport, Reece Mcintosh and Daniel Munilla with Premiership experience.
They also have a couple of youngsters to look out for in Kian Chesney and Zac Brown, who are being given the opportunity to play at a higher level.
There is good depth at the club, which is going to be important in the long run.
They’ve had a positive preseason, and we expect them to start well. They will likely be there or thereabouts come season’s end.
Albion Park host Figtree FC in their opening match of the season.
Shellharbour City
Rebadged from Shellharbour Juniors, City have a strong foundation, and it’s no surprise that the bulk of their squad are former juniors. Coached by Peter Grujevski, there are genuine ambitions for this great club.
For the most part, they have a young mobile side that features James Sekuloski, Edvard Grujevski, Cassander Grujevski and Joshua Petrovski amongst others.
They are no pushovers defensively either with Deakin Southern in goal and the likes of Kyle Ristevski, George Marentis and Reagan Strong marshalling the defence.
They’ve had a decent preseason where they progressed a round through the Australia Cup and they put up a brave fight against Helensburgh in the Bampton Cup.
If they can learn to control their enthusiasm and continue to build, we expect Shellharbour to be one of the early favourites.
Shellharbour City kicks off their season with a home game against Highlands FC on Friday night.
Warilla Wanderers
By their own standards, it wasn’t a great season for the club last year and the players, committee and fans are crying out for some success.
Like some clubs before them, Warilla’s relegation may just serve them well as they look to regroup, recalibrate and reset some of the core club objectives.
The club have managed to retain a healthy number of players, and they are also looking to give some young players a go.
Coached by Aden Wade, the squad has had a positive preseason. Players to look out for will be Joshua De Gouveia, Lance Condello, Brenton Geribo, and Joel Perry.
There is a lot of pride at stake at King Mickey, and Warilla will be looking to make a strong start where they face Corrimal Rangers at home in the season opener.
We expect Warilla Wanderers to be contenders.
Bellambi Rosellas
Aaron Piercy remains at the helm at Elizabeth Park as he looks to guide the Rosellas back into the higher divisions.
The bulk of the squad looks to have been retained. Look for Lachlan Ogorman and Shuhei Nagasawa to be their go-to men up top, whilst Matt Richardson and Cooper Rouse will be looking to marshal the defence.
There appears to be limited depth at the club, so it will be critical that their first team players stay fit, healthy and available.
The season could go one of two ways for Bellambi, and they will need to start strong if they are going to be a legitimate threat.
First up is a local derby match against neighbours Woonona at Ocean Park.
Corrimal Rangers
The club has undergone quite a reconstruction over the last six months, with almost all of last year’s squad having left. The club has had to rebuild, and they appear to be doing a lot of good things off the park.
On the park, it’s been a bit of a different story with the team on the receiving end of a couple of heavy defeats in preseason. Coach Marcos Miranda has been working overtime to get the squad ready.
If the Rangers can finish in the top half of the table, they will have done extremely well; however, the fear is that they have several young and inexperienced players at this level. They will need to adapt quickly if they are to remain competitive.
The Rangers will need to tighten up defensively as they look to some more mature players to fill that void. One suspects the team is a work in progress for this season as the club looks to consolidate.
They face a tough ask in the opening round as they tackle one of the competition favourites Warilla Wanderers, away.
Woonona Sharks
Finally, we look at the Sharkies. It is great to see the club back in the Men’s Premiership competitions.
This is another club that is looking to give younger players an opportunity. Young players who have come through the Woonona junior system, like Hayden Southall, Emerson Peardon and Noah Blackett.
Coached by Peter Passaliokis, Peter Blackett and Robert Benge, expect Woonona to be competitive in their first season back, with a playoff spot is not out of the question.
The Sharks host Bellambi in the opening round.
