A loss in penalties saw Raiders exit the Finals Series in 2013 earlier than hoped, a situation in which the strong side is looking to avoid in 2014.

Raiders Captain Michael Doyle told that finishing 5th overall on the season ladder was not where his team expected to end up.

“As a club we believed we had a strong enough team to go further and push for the title, unfortunately on the day some decisions didn’t go our way which didn’t help, but that is how it goes sometimes.”

Looking ahead at the upcoming season, Doyle says that competing in the Finals Series is a must.

“Every year our main goal is to make Finals at a minimum. This has quickly become the benchmark for the club as we have a huge community following and the club deserves nothing less than competing for the title.”

In addition to the new season kicking-off, the Centre Back is eagerly anticipating the Coca-Cola Federation Cup and the chance to compete in the FFA Cup. 

“This is a great initiative for all clubs brought in by the FFA and I expect every team to take it seriously. The advantages of going far in the Federation Cup and then the FFA Cup are huge and something we would love to be a part of.”

Participating in the Inaugural Regional Round in 2013 that saw both Raiders and Adelaide Blue Eagles travel to Whyalla for a regular season match was a highlight for Doyle who looks forward to the rematch.

“The Regional Round in Whyalla was a great idea. It allowed both us and Adelaide Blue Eagles to travel and play some where we wouldn’t usually go and allowed the local community to watch a Premier League game.

“Whyalla Croatia were great hosts and we are really looking forward to battling it out again with Blue Eagles, minus the heavy rain!”

Doyle tells that he isn’t able to name any one team to watch out for in the new season as he feels the league has become so tight, instead he feels that it will come down to who can manage their squad of 20 the best that will succeed.

Raiders Head Coach Carl Maynard tells that there is an absolute bare minimum expectation that his side competes in the Finals Series in 2014.

“We were aiming to go higher last season and I spoke to the boys half way through the year and told them that we can go as far as we want to go.

“We knew that certain things were going to hinder us, such as our squad size and that is what it came down to against Campbelltown.

“We wanted to go further and expected to go further but we knew we needed all of the little things to fall in place, things like no injuries and a bit of luck for it to happen, but in the end those things went against us.”

Maynard tells that he will be working on the ‘predictability’ of his side in their pre-season training.

“We need to vary the way we are capable of defeating teams, that is really our main focus. We were a bit expected, there was only one or two ways we were going to do it.

“The new players we are bringing in to the club, Elvis Kamsoba and Nathan Fleetwood, as well as bringing back Shaun Brennan and Ryan Marveggio, definitely set us up for what we want to do.”

Maynard feels that the ‘usual teams’ who have appeared in the Finals the past few years will do well again in 2014.

“Adelaide Blue Eagles, MetroStars and Adelaide City always do well. Campbelltown proved that if you are organised you will be successful and they have added 1 or 2 good players to their organisation so they will be up there again. I would throw us in there too.

“A tough one will be West Adelaide. They have a lot of good players but that doesn’t always mean they will be successful, it will depend on how those players gel. They have all of the ingredients to do very well this year, it just depends how quickly they hit their straps.”

Raiders play their next trial match against State League side Playford Patriots at Ramsay Park on Saturday 18 January, kick-off 3pm.