Football Season Guide

Despite a disappointing A-League campaign last season (finishing eighth), they have qualified for the Asian Champions League 2 via winning the Australian Cup so the season as a whole must be considered a success. They'll no doubt want to improve on their A-League performances this season though. They've had a pretty busy pre-season. Despite losing midfield warrior Hollman and attacking dynamo Jakolis, they've generally emerged victorious from the transfer market, having been able to ditch some unwanted personnel, or some foreign imports that never truly settled in the first place. In has come Talbot at RB - a great signing. Caceres has joined to be a more experienced version of Jakolis. They've brought in a very seasoned head in defence in da Silva as well as two match-winners in attack in Dong-won Ji and Rafael Duran Martinez. Politidis - whether used at LB or LW - is another good signing. Grzan has looked good early on, and Vickery should bring life from the bench. Juggling their commitments early on may be a bit of a trial as they're simply not used to it. They're going to have to be very careful how they handle veterans like Brattan, Caceres, and da Silva, who are brilliant but find it easier to pick up injuries at this stage of their respective careers. They should be able to start this campaign well though, having already got a few Asian Champions League 2 games under their belts. They look fit, ruthless in front of goal, and they're not giving much away. If this continues, they must be considered as dark horses for the title as they've no obvious weaknesses to speak of.