Football Season Guide

Had a really unconvincing NPL New South Wales campaign, finishing eighth. They lacked consistency for most of it, but most of all lacked goals. There were higher hopes for the team, most likely due to the size of the club, but they were ultimately very disappointing. However, they have recruited well ahead of this tournament and should be taken seriously. It's not quite clear how they coaxed Japanese defender Yamamura to join from J-League powerhouses Yokohama F. Marinos (where he admittedly wasn't playing) but it's a massive boost for them; he's simply too good for this level. They also brought in Tate Russell from Western United, a full-back who is far, far too good for this level. If not for frequently bad injuries, he'd still be playing in the A-League, and will almost certainly return there at some point. Russell is as good offensively as he is defensively so is one hell of a signing for the Wolves. However, it must be remarked that the club has so far failed to address the elephant in the room - they don't score goals. Only Nicholas Olsen knows how to find the net, despite the odd piece of brilliance from Masciovecchio. They're massively reliant on those two players turning up week in, week out. It's a big gamble to take ahead of the Australian Championship. It's going to be difficult to anticipate precisely what they'll do in this competition. For starters, they're in a tough group. They're yet to convince in attack, which is a problem for obvious reasons. A solid defence will only take them so far. It's a bit of a coin toss - if they start well, then they could be dark horses because of how well they're going to be able to frustrate opponents. If not, it could backfire horribly.