James Murphy
THE International Soccer Club was left with a chip on its shoulder after the 2021 Steeline Limestone Coast Football Association season.
Inter’s senior side finished top of the ladder to claim the minor premiership but found itself knocked out of finals in straight sets as it battled with injury at the business end of the year.
Now, with a wealth of depth and coming off a solid showing at the inaugural pre-season carnival, the boys in black and blue are hungry to redeem themselves.
Inter claimed the overall carnival honours on its home deck with a talented roster rotated throughout its five games on the day.
Vlada Gajic is at the helm of the A Grade and Under 17 sides this year and as has been the case in recent years, some crossover can be expected as juniors are given a taste of senior soccer.
He said the A Grade squad is raring to go for the upcoming season, with no trouble attracting numbers at training.
“The seniors just want to get straight back into it,” Gajic said.
“They are quite excited.”
Gajic was pleased with the outcome at the carnival and looks forward to the season ahead, which shapes up to be another strong one from Inter.
There have been a few player movements in the off-season with the loss of talented youngsters Austin Rossi and Connor Prior, as they both head to Adelaide for study.
Dan Allwright will also be absent, as he takes a year off due to starting a family, while Kaleb Gentile and Noah Koko Htoo are out for the season due to injury.
However, it is not all one-way traffic, with some talented players recruited.
“We have Matt Ferguson – he hasn’t played for about three years – he has come over,” Gajic said.
“Daniel Young has come from Western Australia and Adelaide and we have a couple of young guys who are coming through as well.
“All the players that are coming in are pretty good and will be some extra threats in the season.”
Ka Nay Di Baw and Pah Wah round out the recruits and if the pre-season carnival is anything to go by, Inter will have no shortage of depth this year.
Plenty of intrigue will surround the opening round this Sunday, with a preliminary final rematch against Apollo at Webb Street.
However, Gajic is confident heading into the bout.
“We will just go about our business,” he said.
“The boys want a bit of revenge, but we had a lot of injuries at that time.
“This year we are fresh, we are ready to go and hopefully we will turn the tables.”
