Balgownie Rangers surprised a lot of people last year when they snuck in the playoffs courtesy of a late strike in the final minutes of their Round 22 match. They went on to best Thirroul in the first round of the playoffs and they will be looking to match that effort this year.

Coach James Dummett has retained much of last years squad however with several clubs looking to have recruited well and strengthened, Balgownie may just find it a bit more difficult this time around.

To make things harder, the club is without playmaker Michael Todd due to an ACL injury sustained last year and Goalkeeper and brother Chris Todd is battling injury as well. The club has picked up Aaron Tambakis (ex-Fernhill) to cover the goalkeeping dilema and ex Crescent Star midfielder - Jim Youssef for some additional coverage. 

The club will be looking to District League Player of the Year - Jackson Dummett to pull the strings again this year along with the consistent Matt McCoy and youngster Anthony Vardareff.

The club has tried a few players through the preseason Cup where they managed a win against Wests Illawarra. Youngster Kurt Dorahy looks like he may get some First team game time this year after impressing in the games he played.

Another youngster that made headlines was Keiran Duggan. He scored a record 50 goals a couple of seasons ago with the Corrimal Rangers Youth team. A former junior at the club, he joined the club midway through the season last year and hopes to use that experience to help him bag a few goals in the first team.

I am not convinced Balgownie Rangers will feature in the playoffs again this year. They will need to be more consistent than they were last year if they are genuinely going to give it a good shake however with a youthful squad at their disposal, they will trouble teams this year.