It's a Covid-19 affected Pascoe Cup season which will be like no other. The top four after nine rounds will contest the main prize, with the rest to vie for the cup. We take a look at how the teams are shaping up before this Sunday's kick-off.
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HANWOOD
Coach: Anthony Agresta
Last season: Premiers (12 wins, three losses, three draws, 39 points); grand final winners
Key gains: Daniel Rogato, Joseph Catanzariti, Daniel Andreazza.
Key losses: Joey Schirripa, Brad Clarke, Nick Kennedy, Ste Bullen.
What the coach says: "We'll have a pretty similar team to last year, so hopefully we can back it up with another good season. We'll keep in touch (with Schirripa) I'm one of those guys who doesn't like to pressure people into playing and then they don't want to be there anyway. We've been mates for a long time and if we wants to come back that's great, but we're preparing more or less without him."
What we say: There's no reason to suggest the defending premiers won't be up to their eyeballs in it again this year. The loss of Schirripa, who scored both goals in last year's 2-1 grand final win over Lake Albert, is a blow, as is the early absence of Michael Musitano who still has four games of a five match suspension to serve. But they have plenty of class all over the field.
Prediction: First
LAKE ALBERT SHARKS
Coach: Mitch Tinnock
Last season: Third after regular season (11 wins four losses, three draws, 36 points), beaten grand finalists
Key gains: Moses Retambang, Jackson Manton, Justin Curran
Key losses: Ben Matthews, Cam Mavor, Ben Mavor, James Trevaskis
What the coach says: "We'll probably look to promote a couple of the younger lads. Jack Manton (defender) coming up from ressies will probably get a starting gig, and the newcomers are mostly from reserve grade. Moses Redamwang played for Wanderers under-18s last year and he's got a few tricks up front. Losing all those quality players is very difficult, but in saying that we're still reasonably confident that we've got a solid squad and good enough players to play finals and make a push."
What we say: The Sharks have lost several key players, and it will be interesting to see how they manage to fill the gaps. The loss of reigning player of the year Ben Matthews from the midfield is a huge loss, as are wingers Cam Mavor and Ben Trevaskis who pulled defences apart consistently last year. However, Lake Albert did win the reserve grade grand final last year in a strong sign they have good depth.
Prediction: Fourth
HENWOOD PARK HAWKS
Coach: Scott Elphick (new)
Last season: Second after regular season (12 wins, three losses, three draws, 39 points); preliminary finalists
Key gains: Jake Ploenges, Ryley Shiels, Nick Unwin, Thomas Forge.
Key losses: Matt Menser, Mitchell Sauer
What the coach says: "We'll dig in and hopefully have a good season. A lot of the ressies players coming up are good players and are hungry. We still want to get into the top four and we'll fight for that, but this year is a good year for development in a short season. We've got a tough season with Hanwood first up, then Leeton next who I think will be the team to beat."
What we say: How Henwood Park will fare is one of the big unknowns under a new coach expected to adopt a different philosophy to the departed Matt Menser. The return of attacking weapon Jake Ploenges from Wagga City Wanderers is a huge boost for the Hawks, and exciting youngsters like Harry Trevaskis will be given every chance to impress. Other commitments have forced recruits Domenic Ciampa and Ethan Piper to withdraw from the squad.
Prediction: Sixth
LEETON UNITED
Coach: Frank Alampi
Last season: Fourth after regular season (Ten wins, four losses, four draws, 34 points); minor semi finalists
Key gains: Fred Gardner, Henri Gardner, Darion Le Cornu, Sam Pirrottina
Key losses: Carlo Trifogli, Joey Fondacaro (suspended first four weeks).
What the coach says: "We're virtually the same line-up as last year with a couple of key additions. We got a bit unlucky last year towards the end. We played pretty good football last year and it wasn't good enough to win it, it just wasn't our day in the semis. The boys coming in will add some competition for spot and no one's place is set, which is good. We let in a couple of sloppy goals last year which we have to cut out as well."
What we say: Leeton have a huge opportunity this season to secure their first Pascoe Cup premiership since 1993. They're one of the better skilled teams in the competition and play attractive football, but struggled at times to take advantage of their chances in front of goal. The acquisition of Fred and Henri Gardner should go some way to solving that issue. If they tighten up a little more in defence, they'll be right in the mix.
Prediction: Second
YOUNG LIONS
Coach: Mark Mellish
Last season: Fifth after regular season (Ten wins, five losses, three draws, 33 points); elimination finalists
Key gains: Mitchell Brown, Rhys Lacey.
Key losses: Ryan Cameron, Toby House, Frazer Burns.
What the coach says: "We've lost about four players since the lockdown. Even though our third graders went into reserve grade this year, it's a big step for some of them to jump up and play first grade this year. We've had guys move away from work, and looking at other clubs they're picking up players. Other clubs have a reasonably strong reserve grade side, whereas we don't. There'll be some younger players coming in for their first year of first grade. Realistically it will be a tough ask (to make the top four), but a couple of years ago people wrote us off and we made the grand final."
What we say: Young may not have the same level of talent as some of the more fancied teams, but being one of the toughest teams to play against is in their DNA. They made finals last year on the basis of one of the stingiest defences in the league, and an ability to grind out points against teams above them on the table.
Prediction: Fifth
WAGGA UNITED CROWS
Coach: Travis Weir
Last season: Sixth (Nine wins, four losses, five draws, 32 points)
Key gains: Prince Thompson, Matthew Crawford, Mitch de Bruyn (Canberra)
Key losses: Damo Hurst, Tyler Allen
What the coach says: "We've set a target of finals. We do that every year. We were pretty disappointed last year at not making finals, but we sat down after the season and looked at a few things that didn't go our way. I wouldn't say we're overly confident because we've got to improve a lot from last year but we beat some top sides last year so we're hopeful."
What we say: Wagga United just missed out on last year's finals after conceding a late goal for a draw in last year's final round. But after losing a few players we're predicting they'll be somewhere around mid-table, and realistically a chance to win the plate.
Prediction: Seventh
TUMUT EAGLES
Coach: Dylan Piper-Bye (new)
Last season: Seventh (Five wins, ten losses, three draws, 18 points)
Key gains: Ethan Kass, Murray Barrett, Daniel Dixon, Will Goode, Charlie Dodds
Key losses: Angus Mason-Elliott.
What the coach says: "It's probably one of the best squads of the last few years I've played. I think we can make a play for the top teams in the plate, if not the cup (top four). We've got a lot of players back from various unis which is pretty crucial, and we've kept a pretty good core of senior players."
What we say: Handing a 17-year-old coach the first grade coaching reins is a big show of faith from the club. The return of Ethan Kass and Daniel Dixon will help shore up the backline, while newcomer Murray Barrett is tipped to cause a few headaches in midfield. Likely to press for one of the top spots in the 'plate' competition (lower six after the first nine rounds)
Prediction: Ninth
TOLLAND WOLVES
Coach: Joel Irlam (new)
Last season: Eighth (Five wins, 11 losses, two draws, 17 points)
Key gains: Not supplied
Key losses: Domenic Ciampa, Jayden Beattie, Cameron Kopp
What the coach says: "We're fielding three grades this year, we're very confident with the numbers we have to do that. The sides will be picked very much on performance and merit, and we haven't really lost anyone that I had in mind in pre-season before Covid-19. There hasn't been much disruption in planning from there and the Pascoe and Gardiner (reserve grade) sides will be very competitive for spots."
What we say: Tolland struggled to score goals throughout last season, and being able to solve that puzzle will be a major factor in whether they're a realistic chance of breaking into the top four.
Prediction: Eighth
SOUTH WAGGA
Coach: Andy Heller (new)
Last season: Ninth (Two wins, 16 losses, 0 draws, six points)
Key gains: Adrian Jones, Mitchell Sauer, Liam Thomas, Caellan Gray, Clayton Gunning
Key losses: Not supplied
What the coach says: "We just want to get out there, be competitive and enjoy our soccer. The results will ultimately come over the next few seasons as we continue our rebuild and we'll start focusing on a longer term plan, which we're pretty excited about. We want to drive ourselves as high up the league as we can get."
What we say: New coach Andy Heller is respected by his rivals, but he has a big job to mould the Warriors from easybeats to a competitive force. They're likely to enjoy some improvement this year, but patience will be key as they look to rise up the ladder.
Prediction: Tenth
ALBURY CITY FC
Coach: Ricky Piltz (first season)
Last season: N/A
Key gains: Thorne Maw, Seb Berkout.
Key losses: Tylar Young, Isaac Read
What the coach says: "That senior team we fielded on the weekend (4-0 trial win over Lake Albert), we had five starting players aged 18 years and younger. The oldest player was 27, then 24 and after that seven players were under 20, with six 18 and younger."
What we say: Assuming coronavirus doesn't end their Pascoe Cup cameo before it begins, all indications are they will be one of the main teams to beat. They looked well organised and crisp in their trial against the Sharks.
Prediction: Third
NOTE: The competition will be split into top four (cup) and lower six (plate) divisions after nine rounds. Each team will be scheduled three more games within their division, and all teams will play in a three-week finals series.
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