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MATCH OF THE ROUND

Southern & Ettalong v Woongarrah

The BPL Round 3 Match of the Round takes us to James Browne Oval as Southern & Ettalong kick their year off in front of a home crowd against Luke Rogers Woongarrah’s side.

Dale Eggleton’s Southern will be disappointed with themselves after being knocked out by their rivals Terrigal in the Association Cup Semi-Final (2-1) and will look to right their wrongs come Sunday for the opening game of the season. Southern & Ettalong will be without the ever so dangerous Michael Tawyer for the year ahead, but Dale Eggleton has done a great job recruiting players to replace Tawyer if such a thing is possible. The Lions will once again take the field with the almighty Keith Gumbs leading their dangerous attack that will now be accompanied by Jameson Flynn.

Southern and their opposition faced off in round 7 last year, also at James Browne Oval, in a very one-sided performance that saw Southern win 6-1. The Lions were on track to play finals football last year, but this year the Lions will be encouraged to do one better with the squad they have and fight to be named League Champions at the end of the season.

“Pre-season has been a challenge with wet weather making it hard for training sessions, but the playing group’s attitude has been good throughout and we are expecting a good season ahead,” stated Eggleton.

As for Woongarrah, a number of their bigger named players have moved on from Luke Rogers squad since last year, but it has not seemed to have an effect on the Wildcats side who went through their Association Cup group stage fixtures unbeaten, picking up 2 wins (East Gosford & Gwandalan) and 1 draw (Kanwal) but unfortunately went down in the play-off game against Terrigal (4-2).

Woongarrah will be without Kaleb Langbien who was shown a red card in their match against Terrigal and will serve his suspension on Sunday. Woongarrah will be out to improve on their away form from last year as Rogers’s side managed to only pick up the one win away from home in six matches. This will be something Rogers will need to polish if they wish to compete for a top 4 finish this year which they are more than capable of executing.

“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 and also a few new additions, we are looking good but need time to gel,” commented Rogers.

Berkeley Vale v Kariong

2022 Men’s Association Cup Winners Berkeley Vale will be high on confidence for their opening match against Kariong at Pluim Park on Saturday Night.

Berkeley Vale has a lot of hype surrounding them for the season ahead. Mark Pratt, like always, has done a tremendous job recruiting new and returning players to his Wombat squad. These new additions have already made their impact on the club as Pratt’s side edged out Terrigal (2-1) to be crowned Association Cup winners. The Wombats were also without key players for Easter Monday’s Grand Final, with Alex Arbelo, Alex Burrell, and Bailey Garland who were all not named on the team sheet.

Berkeley Vale were standouts in the Association Cup, scoring 6 goals in both of their group stage games and just conceding the 1 goal in 180 minutes of play. The Wombats have also faced their opponents this weekend in an Australian Cup game in which they came out 3-1 victors. Expect Berkeley Vale to look to get their season off with a very dominant performance come Saturday night.

Kariong’s inaugural BPL season under coach Mark Owen did not go as planned as the Cougars remained without a win after the opening 9 rounds of competition. Mark has since moved on as head coach and has been replaced by Kariong 1st grader Ryan Finch.

Finch will be hoping to lead his side to their first win in the BPL competition. Kariong will be taking their season one game at a time. A majority of the Cougar’s squad from last year have stuck around which means they boast plenty of BPL experience that the side did not possess last year. If Kariong can defy the odds and pick up a result in the opening round it will send a statement to all the other BPL clubs.

Avoca v Terrigal

Martyn Griffith’s Terrigal will look to put last weekend’s Association Cup Grand Final loss behind them and start their season taking maximum points against a very dangerous and hungry Avoca side.

Much like Terrigal, Avoca remained undefeated in their Association Cup fixtures also picking up 2 wins (Gosford & Umina) and 1 draw (Killarney) to secure their spot in the semi-finals before exiting out of the Cup via golden goal against Berkeley Vale

Hide’s side will take plenty of confidence out of their 2-2 result with BPL heavyweights Killarney and forcing Berkeley Vale to extra time in the Association Cup. Avoca must be conscious that they must be at their best if they want to leave Erina High School with any result this weekend. Heal’s youthful Sharks side was the most in-form team in the competition at the beginning of last season and now they have added several older, experienced players, Avoca will be hoping to keep that form all year round as they look to challenge for the title.

Terrigal was on track to go undefeated last year before the season got abandoned, Martyn Griffiths and his squad will be out for redemption this year and will be looking to pick up where they left off in 2021. Griffith’s side will look quite different to last year’s as former Central Coast Mariner Jacob Melling has moved on for the 2022 season. Terrigal will also be without the 2020 BPL Player of the Year Connor Wilkinson which is a massive loss for The O’lads.

Griffiths has recruited well picking up striker Mahkye Brownlie and talented players in Mitch Allen and Jayden Nahkoul. After a far from ideal preseason schedule, Terrigal has had a mixed bag of results, losing their Australian Cup game 2-0 (Ponds FC) and also dropping points to Division 1 side Kincumber in the Association Cup in a 3-3 draw. Despite these losses, the O’lads still qualified to the Association Cup Grand Final but were unfortunate losing 2-1 with 10 men. Terrigal will be without main attacker Daniel Bird who received a red card in that match. Terrigal will be hoping it all clicks come Sunday to get their season started with maximum points. 

Wyoming v Killarney

Wyoming opens their season in front of a home crowd as they welcome the always dangerous Killarney to Alan Davidson.

Wyoming had a far from ideal start to the season last year as they managed to only pick up 4 points from their opening 8 games. However, Wyoming welcomes back a BPL veteran this year in their captain Matt Hall who was sidelined all of last season due to injury. Tigers coach Ian McAndrew will be hoping the addition of Hall will boost the youthful Wyoming squad with much-needed experience which will help close out tough games.

Despite having a far from perfect Association Cup run, Wyoming has been very impressive in their Australia Cup fixtures with their most recent win a 7-0 result over Liverpool Rangers. McAndrew will be encouraging his side to put last year’s season behind them and take each game as it comes starting with BPL heavyweights Killarney. Wyoming will be hoping they can get their season started with a result this weekend against one of the competition’s favourites in Killarney.

Killarney will be looking for a fast start against Wyoming at Alan Davidson this weekend. Killarney coach Chris Ackerley will once again take the reins of the Terriers for the 13th straight season, and although Ackerley has won plenty in his tenure as head coach, he enters this season losing a few of his older, experienced, title-winning players which could play a big part in their upcoming season.

Killarney is well known for their talented juniors and Ackerley and his squad does a tremendous job integrating these youngsters into the team so there is no doubt they will be ready to hit the ground running come Sunday. Killarney will be without the 2020 BPL Golden Boot winner and their main goal scorer Daniel Rodger for the upcoming season. This will be a huge missing piece for the Terriers but still have the dangerous Hall brothers who can score from anywhere on the field.

Kanwal v The Entrance

Kanwal will be looking for a fast start to their 2022 campaign when they battle against The Entrance this Sunday.

Kanwal’s squad will be bolstered by two former mariners for the 2022 season, Brad Porter and Adam Kwasnik join Ryan Walker’s Bulls as they look to put themselves back into the contention for finals football. The addition of these marquee players is set to take Kanwal to the next level after a below-average season last year.

Last year, it took Walker and his squad 6 rounds before they picked up their opening points of the season in first grade. After an impressive Association Cup run, Kanwal remained unbeaten after their 3 group games but unfortunately narrowly missed out on the Semi-Finals due to goal difference. The Bulls fell to The Entrance in their only fixture last year (2-0) but will be full of confidence heading into their opening game and will look to carry their momentum from the cup to Wadalba Sports Complex as they hope to get 3 points in front of a home crowd.

As for The Entrance, they enter the opening round with a vastly different look compared to previous seasons. The Reddies have a new coaching staff with Patrick Zwaanswijk and Josh Rose, former Central Coast Mariners, and Ray Seers all taking charge for the year ahead.

The Entrance has lost the majority of their key players from recent years and has been replaced by a very youthful squad that took quite some time to recruit. The Entrance had a far from ideal Association Cup run, losing all 3 fixtures, including 2 losses over Division 1 teams (Budgewoi & Ourimbah). The Reddies coaching staff will be encouraging their players to put all of that behind them now as they look to make a statement in their opening fixture of the year.