The 2023 Kowree Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League season kicks off on Saturday and the competition looks to be set up for a great season.
Most teams have recruited pretty well, and the competition looks stronger across the board than in 2022.
Lucindale vs Keith The grand final match-up of 2022 was a cracking game between these two teams.
The Roos prevailed on that day in a tight, tough slog in wet and hard conditions.
Keith enters 2023 with ambitions of going one better.
The Crows will look to start the season on a winning note when they face Lucindale on Saturday.
Crows key forward Lewis Hender has taken over as coach and will lead a forward line that can kick a winning score.
The Roos on the other hand have lost a few important premiership players.
Sam Williams, Tom Logan, Scott Foord-Spriggs, Brad McCarthy and Justin Watson have moved on to different teams for 2023.
Lucindale will be looking to find replacements from their premiership-winning Reserves team to cover the gaps left by the departures.
Brad Agnew is a handy addition to the team to help with the losses at the Roos.
I think the Crows will be the more settled side on Saturday and notch up their first win of the season.
Padthaway vs Mundulla Mundulla starts 2023 full of confidence with a more settled lineup than 2022.
The Tigers had constant ins and outs in 2022 and never hit their best football because of it.
The Tigers still made the preliminary final and were not far away from playing in another grand final.
Padthaway on the other hand did not have a great 2022 as it could never string wins together to challenge for a finals spot.
The Lions’ coach Kieron Hicks will look to drive the Lions back up the ladder.
Joshua Miller is a big loss, but the Lions have recruited nicely by bringing in Mitch Minns, Dan Fraser, Jordan Bell, Sam Buckham, Mitch Cotter and Jacob Fiebiger to boost the depth of the team.
Round one is always a gamble and upsets do happen, but Mundulla will be the favourite in this game and look set to start the season with a win.
Kingston vs Penola Kingston hosts Penola at Gall Park and both teams will be happy with their off-season signings.
The Saints appointed a new coach in Sean Jackson and have brought in recruits such as Chris Draper, Thomas Matsouliadis, Andrew Georgeson, Jordan Richards and Orestis Gambranis to boost the depth of the team.
The Saints also have brought back former local talent in Jack Armfield, Will Wiseman and Hagan Wright as well.
Kingston has been right in the finals mix the last two years, but has only three finals losses to show for it.
The Saints will look to try and fix that in 2023 and it starts on Saturday when they face a Penola team looking to fly back up the ladder.
The Eagles did some nice recruiting in the off-season by adding Western Border Football League medalist Jayden Eldridge to the squad for 2023.
The Eagles also added firepower by adding Brodie Foster who kicked 100 goals in 2019 for Glencoe.
Jordan Galpin, Matt Ferguson and Tom Williams will be important additions for the Eagles as well if they are to improve on their win total from last year.
The Saints at home is a tough ask for the Eagles to start the season with and no doubt it will take time for teams to find their footing in the new season.
The Eagles will put up a fight, but I think the Saints will get across the line in a hard-fought game.
Bordertown vs Border Districts This game will be very interesting to see where both clubs are at.
The Eagles have recruited well and will be keen for 2023 to be the year they finally break their finals drought.
The Eagles have recruited quality players in Zac Richards, Dylan Schoenmakers, Isaac Hewson, Gabriel Burden, Jameson Bower, Chase Bower and Mac Bower to help their finals chances.
Mitch Coles and the Helyer boys Blake and Jack will be big losses for the Eagles.
They were consistent performers for Border Districts in 2022.
The Eagles will be hoping the recruits can cover those player losses.
Bordertown on the other hand will be another club looking to climb the ladder and have a better season.
The Roosters have brought in Cameron Dahlitz, Tyson Hoffman, Jed Jarrett and Daniel Quinn to the playing list to add depth to a team that was competitive last season.
Border Districts will start as the favourite, but Bordertown on their home deck will be confident they can get a win to start their year.
Naracoorte vs Kybybolite The Demons head into this game as red-hot favourites and as one of the more fancied teams in the competition.
Matt Willson is back as coach again and the Demons have kept the bulk of their lineup from 2022 for the new season.
League medalist Rory Taggert will be back again to help the Demons towards bigger heights.
The Demons also added a dynamic player in Nath Davey who adds run and carry to an already impressive midfield.
Zac Peake and Brent Kirby have also joined the club.
Kybybolite will look to keep their improvement going from 2022.
The young Tigers got better as last season went along and were competitive.
New coach Jack Kelly has returned to coach Kyby after a successful coaching stint at Robe where he coached the Roosters to the 2018 Mid South East premiership.
The Tigers have looked to keep most of their younger team together and have also added some recruits such as Rory Speirs, Caleb Johnstone, Alex Robert, James Higgins, Luke Black and Mitchell McAnaney to the list.
The Demons should be too strong in this game if they have their full team playing.
The Tigers will put up a fight as they always lift in the games they have with the Demons.
