Football Season Guide

They were mediocre last season, finishing 9th in the table, and came close to finishing lower. As always, Roar's approach is trying to change the most amount of things without spending much money. Although they've done some good business pre-season, they've also got some issues to address. The potential of this group is very good, but the reality is a coin toss. Defence is likely to be the chief concern for Zadkovich this season, who is an excellent motivator and was a defensive midfielder by trade during his time so he knows how to organise his team. Losing Aldred and Trewin in one transfer window was a huge blow though. Bility and Warland should prove to be good replacements but it'll take time for them to adjust, and with Brown potentially suspended for their A-League opener and FB one of their weakest areas last season, keeping teams out will be tough to begin with. Cohesion in their team in general will be a challenge at the start. Gomulka, Mileusnic, Hore, Rojas may not be massive losses as individuals but it's just another piece of the puzzle that they need to find new solutions for. Rojas was a very gifted creator so it's asking a lot of Zimarino to immediately be his replacement, or even Acosta for that matter. Halloran hasn't been at his best for a while either. In general, their approach to recruitment has been somewhat scattergun. There's no proven goal-scorer in this group, although they obviously hope Struick will be the man for the job. They want to control games better with O'Shea ageing so have brought in midfield terrier Shour. Keeping Jelacic for another year was a no-brainer; easily their best player. They're likely to find this season tough, as always. Unless one of their wildcard recruits turns out to be a hero in disguise, then they're going to find it hard to convert chances, hard to control games, and hard to keep teams out. As always, they won't be short of industry, especially at the start, but everything feels more optimistic than pragmatic at the club nowadays. Likely key players - Jelacic, O'Shea, Bility.