James Murphy
THE Blue Lake Soccer Club looks to have depth on its side heading into Round 1 of the 2022 Steeline Limestone Coast Football Association (LCFA) season this Sunday.
Numbers have been an issue in recent years, with players required to back up games in Reserves and A Grade.
However, coach Andy Armandi said that should not be the case this season.
”The committee has done a great job getting most players registered,” he said.
“It looks like we will be able to fill two teams without players playing both games.”
That comes as a positive sign for the club and will hopefully lead to a more successful 2022 campaign.
The Rangers head into Sunday’s opening round clash against Millicent well prepared and in good shape.
“We had a good pre-season thanks to our fitness coach Lauren Frost,” Armandi said.
“She has definitely made a difference, not only with our fitness, but also injury prevention.”
A positive performance at the recent pre-season carnival adds further confidence to the squad, as the Rangers chase a finals berth this year.
”There are still some things that we need to refine a little more, but I saw a lot of good things that came from the carnival,” Armandi said.
“I’m excited and so are the players for the season to come.”
Armandi said there is a good mix of youth and experience in both senior teams and he is excited to see what both sides can do this year.
Player gains far outweigh the losses for Blue Lake, which would come as a relief after a couple of difficult seasons.
“We lost our goalkeeper which in a way has been a good thing as Eh Mwee who was an Under 17 last year has stepped up and is doing a great job,” Armandi said.
“We have also attracted some real quality in both youthful and experienced players to the club.
“These players have helped really compliment the sides and have gelled really well both on and off the field so far.”
The aim for Blue Lake this year is to make finals, after both senior teams missed out last season.
From there anything could happen, with Armandi confident the Rangers can compete with any team on the right day.
For now he said the focus is on Sunday’s Round 1 meeting with Millicent, which will be played on Blue Lake’s home ground at Malseed Park.
However, looking to the season ahead Armandi believes it could be an exciting year for the LCFA competition.
“I think this season will see a changing of the guard,” he said.
“We started to see that in the carnival and I think this season is going to be the most competitive the region has seen in a long time.”
