James Murphy
GAMBIER Centrals enters the 2023 Limestone Coast men’s soccer season chasing a three-peat of senior premierships.
The Lions’ top grade is again under the guidance of coach Brodey Koop and a strong buy in from last year’s squad has left minimal losses from their title-winning side.
Koop said he was excited for the season ahead, which opens tonight with an Anzac Day thriller against International.
“We are looking really well,” he said.
“We kicked things off end of January and we have had a really good preseason.
“Numbers throughout have been exceptional and everyone is on track and ready to go.”
Steve Crowther is the only out for the side, as he moves back to Queensland.
“Other than that we have kept pretty much the same squad and we have had a couple of new additions,” Koop said.
“Dan Hough has moved back into town and will be playing for us again and a couple of others who will bolster the team.”
There is no question around what Centrals hopes to get out of season 2023.
Having won the last two flags, there is plenty of hunger in the group to make it three in a row.
“I can’t fault anyone’s commitment to it,” Koop said.
“It wasn’t long after we won last year that there was talk we wanted to go again and keep this going.
“When you have people with that sort of mindset it is a good place to be.”
With that in mind, the club has remained focused on improving what is already a strong brand of soccer.
“Even though we won (last year), we are not arrogant to think we are perfect by any means,” Koop said.
“We really want to get our defensive structures right and look to play a positive brand of football at the same time, moving it through our lines.
“It is just a matter of reiterating what went well and then identifying the little things that we can tighten up or improve.
“It will be a similar game style, but we are always looking for ways to improve.”
Koop will lean on assistant coach Sam Shoemark, who will also be a vital piece of Centrals’ attack.
Meanwhile the leadership group including the likes of captain Jake Blackwell and Cameron Saint will also be integral cogs in the machine throughout the season.
In terms of players to watch, Koop looked forward to seeing Lewis March play out a full season after injury troubles last year.
He was also excited to see some of the young Lions take their games to the next level.
“I think young Richard (Kinyabuguna) is going to look to take a big step up,” he said.
“We will look for opportunities to get Alex Obedi and Ronald Bati into the team when possible as well.
“Our 17’s won the premiership this year and they are still in Under 17s, but the style they play really excites us.”
Centrals finished runners-up in the recent preseason tournament, with only one goal conceded in the final game of the day to winner International.
However, Koop was pleased with the outcome of the day regardless.
“We set out with some clear goals in mind and for the most part I thought we played pretty well,” he said.
“It would have been nice to take the trophy, but that is not the end goal for us.
“We want to win the last game of the year, not the first ones.”
