R1 Preview: South Adelaide v Raiders
South Adelaide v Raiders
PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia Round 1
When: Saturday, February 27th, kick-off 2:00pm
Where: O’Sullivans Beach Sports & Community Centre, O’SULLIVANS BEACH
South Adelaide: A. Rodgers (GK), A. Horner, C. Reed (C), R. Parker, G. Miller, D. Sullivan, J. Hawker, S. Carmichael, J. Rideout, P. Rideout, C. Fagan, J. Dowsett, D. Varma, J. Recchia, J. Hayes, B. Micallef, C. Tortorella
Raiders: 1. D. Chamberlain (GK), 2. D. Barisic, 3. B. Bility, 4. A. Boccaccio, 5. D. Carosi, 6. A. Cosmidis, 7. T. Dickson, 8. Z. Doyle, 9. A. Harasym-Nicopoulos, 10. S. Hutton-Addy, 11. P. Karittevlis, 12. F. Kido, 13. J. Mccabe, 14. M. Paleka (C), 15. M. Saric, 16. P. Stephens, 17. V. Talladira, 18. P. Piantedosi, 19. M. Marcinko, 20. J. Bralic
Preview:
South Adelaide and Raiders will look to get their season off on the right foot as they do battle in Round 1 of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League South Australia on Saturday.
Both sides avoided the drop last year with Raiders only staying up on goal difference, while South Adelaide were only three points ahead on 30.
Raiders have a very different look to their side in comparison to last year, with influential players Jordan O’Doherty and Elvis Kamsoba departing for Adelaide United and Croydon respectively.
South Adelaide on the other hand have managed to keep the core of their squad from last season intact, and have been given a boost from offseason acquisitions Guy Miller from Adelaide United and Sam Carmichael from Scottish 5th division side Spartans FC, as well as promoting 6 promising youngsters to the senior squad.
Justin Bralic has departed from the Panthers and, ironically, will don the strip of his boyhood club Raiders this weekend against his former side.
Bralic commented on his time at South Adelaide last season, congratulating the coaching and playing staff for putting in the hard work and turning things around.
“At South Adelaide last year we really turned it around and it was a real super human effort to put that winning streak together to avoid relegation, so hats off to everyone at the club who stuck with the coaching staff and the players.”
The precarious final position of the club last season was a major factor in the homecoming of Bralic as the club looks to return to the high standards it sets itself.
“One of the factors in me coming back was restoring the club to where it should be,” Bralic said.
“No one needs to tell me how big the job is this year and it means the world to me that the club is successful again.
“It’s going to be a battle this year; we understand it’s going to take some time to bring a whole new bunch of players together so we’re not expecting miracles but we are a team that’s going to go out and fight for every goal.”
After a torrid start to season 2015, South Adelaide managed to become accustom to the standard of football in the NPL, registering some impressive performances against the mainstays of the division.
In 2016, Captain Chris Reed hopes the club can pull themselves higher up the table now that they know what to expect.
“It probably took us halfway through last season to settle the squad and start performing consistently, and we have held on to majority of the players from last season so we are hoping to start off from where we left off last year.
“Obviously things started to click last year, but that was last year and this is a new year but we have certainly set ourselves bigger and better goals for this season.”
South will be without Jonathon Moore in their midfield for the first 5 or 6 games of the season through injury, but will be able to accommodate for his loss thanks to the additions of Miller and Carmichael.
Reed said the his team would go into this weekend’s game with the mentality that they can get all three points, as they look to lay down the foundations of a strong campaign.
“We obviously go into the game expecting to win; every team will be doing that in round 1.
“We think we have what it takes to beat anyone in the league and certainly at home against Raiders who should be around the mark with us this year, hopefully pushing for finals.”
Bralic said that Raiders needed to stick to the structure and tactics Coach Joel Porter has implemented, now that he has had a full preseason to fully bring in his playing style.
“We have to stick to our structure and our game plan for South Adelaide.
“They are going to be hard to beat down there, especially being the first game of the season and that they won’t want to start poorly.
“But I think we have the talent and I think we can work harder than they can to get a result,” he said.
“We’re not the Raiders team of old, we’re not going to rely on a couple of guys to kick goals, the goals can come from anywhere and we are prepared to work 100% harder than they are to get the result.”
Written by Brendan Simpkins
Comments
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.