Football Season Guide

Their NPL New South Wales campaign ended in disappointment, finishing in seventh place, just behind rivals Sydney United, whom ultimately went on to reach the play-off final. They simply didn't score enough goals in the competition to warrant progressing further than they did. Big changes were needed, and thus the club set about trying to make them - and with some success too. James Donachie was a headline signing; a CB with lots of A-League experience. However, he's since left and signed for the Mariners. Nevertheless, they've still had some wins by bringing in the likes of ex-Macarthur FC attacker Auglah as well as plundering the academies of other Sydney clubs in a bid to find a raw diamond. Between him, Dehmie, and Feutz, they should have a presentable attack although none of them are especially clinical - just handfuls. Clark and Parkhouse are the brains behind the operation. Defensively, they're going to struggle. Donachie was brought in to steady the ship, and he did. Without him, they're back to looking decidedly average at the back, even with their academy lads from bigger clubs having arrived, some of which have been playing fairly often (e.g. Perora at RB). It's going to be tough to anticipate precisely what they will/won't do at the Australian Championship. They've got some good players but they're also being rather optimistic in hoping that their new recruits suddenly turn them from a team that can't make an impression in their usual league to a team that challenges for silverware. The bare minimum for them should be to make it out of the group stage alive, and see where they're at after that.