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Round 1 of the 2022 Battlewin Premier League is set to kick off on the 3rd of April. With the 2021 Season being abandoned due to Covid, we will see the same 10 team competition for the 2022 BPL Season.

Click here to view all BPL Fixtures.

Avoca

Opening 3 Fixtures – Wyoming (H), Woongarrah (A), Terrigal (H)

Avoca will look to start their 2022 season in the same fashion as last year when they found themselves in the 1st place spot after the opening 2 rounds.

Neal Hide will be managing the Sharks once again as has recruited some older, experienced players to help steer the Avoca youngsters to success this season.

“Avoca has quite a young squad again this year, but we’ve added a few new, older players join us who should help the youngsters” Hide said.

“Optimistic for us. I’ll be grateful just for a complete, uninterrupted season for all the football people on the Coast!” voiced Hide when asked about the expectations for his squad this year.

Avoca open their season hosting Wyoming at home who the Sharks claimed a 7-1 result over in round 2 of last year. Neal is not taking last year’s result for granted as admits his side must be at “the top of our game to give us a chance of gaining the 3 points.”

Berkeley Vale

Opening 3 Fixtures – Woongarrah (A ), Southern (A), Kariong (H)

Berkeley Vale will be the team to beat this year on paper after head coach Mark Pratt has had another busy off season and recruited well for the 2022 Wombat squad.

Pratt welcomes back former Wombats Steven Grimmitt and Michael Dalton as well as new recruits Alex Arbelo (Central Coast United), Corey Atkinson (Central Coast United), Nathan Blunden (The Entrance) & Ben Howell (Sydney) who all look to strengthen the already dangerous Wombat side.

Like many other teams and clubs, Berkeley Vale’s pre-season has been less than ideal. “Preseason has been less organised than what I wanted, we had quite a few games in Newcastle cancelled that was out of our control as well as the wet weather, but I suppose we are all in the same boat,” stated Pratt.

“My expectations (for this year) are the same as every year. Try and put in a good performance and win every game we play, whether that be at training or in a competition on the weekend.”

The Entrance

Opening 3 Fixtures – Terrigal (H), Killarney (A), Kanwal (A)

The Entrance will look a very different side this year from top to bottom as they welcome two former Central Coast Mariners Patrick Zwaanswijk and Josh Rose to their coaching staff for the 2022 Season.

The Entrance has lost a majority of their senior players from last year who have since moved on to new clubs. This will provide a massive opportunity for The Reddies youth players to step up and make a name for themselves this season.

Zwaanswijk commented “It has been a very disruptive (preseason) as we started with 16 players for 3 grades, Ray Seers has since done an amazing job in recruitment, and we will need a few months to get this group used to each other. Our preseason will be a bit longer than most clubs in BPL.”

The Entrance starts their 2022 season in one of the toughest ways possible facing BPL powerhouses Terrigal and Killarney in their opening 2 encounters. Zwaanswijk is well aware of the dangers Terrigal poses stating, “Terrigal is a well-organised club and will be one of the teams to play for the title. We won’t be as good as them, but we will try to be competitive and give them problems where we can.”

Hopefully, the experience of the coaching squad will set The Reddies up for a positive 2022 campaign.

Kanwal

Opening 3 Fixtures- Southern (H), Kariong (A), The Entrance (H)

Kanwal will look to start their year with as much momentum as possible after a “good preseason which the squad have put in a big effort,” stated Ryan Walker who takes charge of the Bulls side once again for the 2022 Season.

Walker welcomes former Mariners Brad Porter and Adam Kwasnik to his squad for the upcoming season. The addition of these experienced and talented players is sure to boost the players around them, especially the younger talents Walker possesses in his squad.

Last year it took Kanwal 6 rounds before they were able to pick up their opening points of the year in first grade. Kanwal will be hoping for a faster start to their season as the Bulls side looks to push for a finals spot this year.

“I don’t really have any expectations (for the season) yet, hoping to have a great year and be in around the top 4 come the back end of the season but we will be taking it one game at a time,” said Walker.

Walker side host Southern in Round 1, “Over the past few years Kanwal v Southern has always had high scoring games and I would expect it to be the same with end-to-end football.”

Kariong

Opening 3 Fixtures – Killarney (H), Kanwal (H), Berkeley Vale (A)

Kariong welcomes a new head coach for the BPL season as Ryan Finch takes charge of the Cougar’s side for 2022. Kariong’s inaugural BPL season in 2021 was quite the learning curve for the newly promoted side who did not manage to win a single game before the 2021 season was abandoned.

Last year’s efforts are now behind Finch who has a clear objective for his squad this year, to remain in BPL for the 2023 season. “Our expectations this season is to improve on last season and continually be competitive in games across all grades. Our main goal is to remain in the BPL for season 2023 and to build Kariong into a BPL mainstay.”

“Preseason has been good, we started late November and have worked on some new things, so the boys are raring to go and get the season underway.”

“I am happy with how the squad is shaping up. We have a few new faces that have provided our squad with more quality and overall depth,” voiced Finch.

The Cougars welcome Killarney to Kariong Oval for Round 1 as Finch hopes to make his first competitive game in charge a successful one.

Killarney

Opening 3 Fixtures- Kariong (A), The Entrance (H), Wyoming (A)

Chris Ackerley will lead Killarney for the 13th straight year as The Terriers look to dominate the BPL competition again which they have done numerous times in recent history.

Killarney will have a few new faces in their first-grade squad this year as some of their older, experienced, championship winning players have stepped down and decided to play All-Age for the upcoming year. If there is any club that has the talent and depth to replace these players, it’s Ackerley’s Killarney Vale squad.

The bar is always set so high for Killarney after winning 5 straight League Champions starting in 2016 and this can be expected from them again come 2022. “Expectations for the season is to start strongly and build results as the season progresses,” said Ackerley.

Like a majority of other clubs, preseason has not been ideal due to the current situations being out of anyone’s control. “Preseason has been quite interrupted due to wet weather and also players missing due to Covid. We start the year with a hard game (against Kariong) as everyone is coming off an interrupted preseason.”

Expect Killarney to be fighting for more titles in the 2022 season.

Southern & Ettalong

Opening 3 Fixtures – Kanwal (A), Berkeley Vale (H), Woongarrah (H)

Southern & Ettalong will have high hopes heading into the 2022 season after being very productive in recruiting new players to their BPL squad this off-season.

The Lions were on course to play Finals Football before last year’s season was abandoned, but Southern will be looking to go a step further this year and be in the fight for the top spot. Despite not having the brilliant Michael Tawyer in their line-up this year, Dale Eggleton has done very well to attract experienced BPL players to his team which leaves him to believe they are in for a great season ahead.

“With wet weather making it hard for training sessions and cancelled trial games which are vital. The playing group’s attitude has been great through preseason, and we are expecting a good season.”

As for round 1, Eggleton knows the challenge ahead that comes with playing Kanwal away. “Kanwal as Kanwal is always a tough game. I have heard good reports about their playing roster for this year so it will be a challenge indeed first up but I’m sure one the boys will embrace and look forward to.” 

Terrigal

Opening 3 Fixtures – The Entrance (A), Wyoming (H), Avoca (A)

Terrigal will be looking at this year with plenty of unfinished business as they were on their way to go through the 2021 season undefeated before all competitions got abandoned.

Martyn Griffiths takes the helm once again and states his team is shaping up nicely for the upcoming season. “We have lost some key players in Jacob Melling, Conor Wilkinson, Anthony Pace and Max Vegter, but this does provide an opportunity for the Reserve Grade players who have been knocking on the door over the last couple of years to step up.”

We have brought in Mahkye Brownlie, a lively striker from The Entrance, Mitch Allen, a quality centre back from CCU along with Jayden Nahkoul who has plenty of NPL experience in his to his name,” said Griffiths.

Terrigal will be looking to get their season off to a very positive start as they face The Entrance at Pat Morley. The O’lads will be out to imitate last year’s dominance and pick up where they left off come kick-off in round 1.

Woongarrah

Opening 3 Fixtures – Berkeley Vale (H), Avoca (H), Southern (A)

Woongarrah found themselves sitting mid-table last year after 9 rounds of competition, but Luke Rogers will be determined to improve that record this time around and get his team back into Finals Football and on top of the competition.

“We have had a fair change of personnel from last season’s side, with some of our young boys earning their spot in the first team & a few new additions. We are looking good but will need time to gel.”

When asked about preseason, Rogers stated “It was the worst I’ve ever experienced,” but maintains a positive and hopeful attitude towards his squad. “We just have to stay positive and prepare ourselves the best we can.”

As for Rogers and Woongarrah’s expectation for the upcoming year, it remains the same as any other year. “(Expectation are) To win the competition it always is every season. If that happens or not is another thing but that will be my expectations of this side.”

The Wildcats failed to pick up a result away from home last year as they travel to Mingara for their opening round clash with Berkeley Vale.

Wyoming

Opening 3 Fixtures – Avoca (A), Terrigal (A), Killarney (H)

Wyoming will be under the guidance of player-coach Ian McAndrew as the Tigers look to dramatically improve on last year’s results.

Wyoming only managed to pick up 7 points from 9 games to start the 2021 season as the very young Wyoming outfit struggled in the early stages of the year. Wyoming will welcome back their captain Matt Hall for the 2022 season as he was sidelined with an injury that ruled him out in 2021. Hall is a very experienced player that will control the game for Wyoming and will be a great boost for McAndrew’s side.

The defence will be McAndrew’s main focus this year, on both occasions Wyoming kept a clean sheet last year they walked away with the 3 points.

McAndrew and his team face Avoca away from home in Round 1. Avoca handed Wyoming their biggest loss of their year last season (7-1) so Wyoming will be well aware of the dangers Avoca possess and that they must be on top of their game if they want to walk away from round 1 with maximum points.