The season proper of the Barry Maney Premier League will kick off this weekend, as the Limestone Coast Football Association hosts its opening round. The SE Voice’s sports journo Will Boston takes a look at how the sides are shaping up prior to the first kick off.



International Men


Inter will be heading into the 2024 Barry Maney Premier League as heavy favourites to win it all after a good preseason and carnival. Last season Inter finished minor premiers with 13 wins, one draw and a loss.


Inter will be looking to continue its top form from last season as it finished strong with four wins and one draw in the last five matches.


The black and blue’s only loss came at the hands of Apollo which tooka 2-1 victory after stealing the game with a late goal in extra time.


Inter’s list is still very good with the side similar to last season.


Inter will face Apollo in a grand final rematch this week at Apollo Football Club.



International Women


Last year Inter had a solid season finishing third with nine wins, one draw and five losses. At the end of last season Inter finished strong winning the last five home and away season games.


In the finals last year Inter played well, beating Millicent 4-0 then playing Blue Lake and getting the win in a 3-2 result.


In the grand final Inter got the win over Apollo in a 1-0 victory.


This year the Inter girls are hungry to compete every week again and make another run for the flag.


This week Inter has a grand final rematch against Apollo at Apollo which should make for a very entertaining match.



Apollo Men


Last season Apollo was a very competitive team, finishing second on the ladder with a record of 11 wins, one draw and three losses. Once finals hit, Apollo got smashed in the first final against Inter 7-1 and then took a good 2-0 win over Centrals in the second final.


Apollo played well against Inter in last year’s grand final, holding the black and blue scoreless in the first half.


They could not get the job done in the second half as they fell to Inter’s Dan Allwright who scored two goals.


Now playing them in a grand final rematch, Apollo will be out for revenge.


With Apollo having home field advantage and it being the first game anything can happen in this exciting round 1 match up.



Apollo Women


Last year Apollo finished as minor premiers with 12 wins, a draw and two losses. Apollo was dominant all season and that did not change in the finals.


Apollo took care of Blue Lake with a 2-1 victory.


But they could not get the job done in the grand final, losing to Inter 1-0.


This year Apollo has started its season well, winning the preseason carnival.


Apollo will be looking to exact revenge on Inter this week as they play them on their home turf to kick off the season.



Gambier Centrals Men


Last season Gambier Centrals had a solid year, finishing third with a record of 10 wins, one draw and four losses.


They were a competitive side and always had a good match against Inter and Apollo.


Centrals came away with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Blue Lake after an extra time goal secured the win in the finals.


After that game they struggled in the second final, losing to Apollo 2-0.


This season Centrals will be looking to have another competitive year as they will have to wait until round 2 to play their first match as they face Naracoorte after having a bye.



Gambier Centrals Women


Last year Centrals had a poor season, finishing fifth with two wins, two draws and 11 losses. Centrals showed a lot of positive signs last year with the team scoring one or more goals in their games which was a good sign.


This year Centrals have begun their season well, finishing second in the preseason carnival which hopefully means there are good things to come.


This year the team has a few new players who provide a different aspect to the game they did not have last year.


This week Centrals will play Millicent at MGA Park.


Centrals should come away with the points in this game after they got a 2-0 win over Millicent in the carnival.



Blue Lake Men


Last year Blue Lake did not have the best season, finishing fourth Blue Lake had four wins, two draws and nine losses.


In the finals Blue Lake almost stole a win against Centrals but fell short in extra time.


Like last season the Rangers will have a fairly young side which will make them a tough opponent to play with their speed and athleticism.


This week Blue Lake has a good match up against Naracoorte at Malseed Park with this game possibly going either way.



Blue Lake Women


Last year Blue Lake had a very good season, finishing second with 11 wins, one draw and three losses and came close to making the grand final.


After a bumpy start to the year the team finally started to connect and they played very well in the back end of the season.


In the finals the team fell apart as they went out in straight sets.


In their first finals they had a tough 2-1 loss to Apollo, while in their second final they got close to beating Inter but fell short in a 3-2 defeat.


This year they will be looking to make finals again as they begin their season playing Naracoorte this week at Blue Lake Sports Park.



Naracoorte Men


Last season Naracoorte struggled, finishing fifth with two wins, two draws and 11 losses.


Naracoorte was able to get a win over Blue Lake and Millicent which shows good signs.


This year Naracoorte will look to be a competitive side each week with their list being made up of a few new players as well as some returning players who played last year, along with players returning from injury.


This week Naracoorte will play Blue Lake away and given how they played against them last year there is a possibility that Naracoorte could come away with some points from this game.



Naracoorte Women


Last year Naracoorte had a rough season. They finished last with one win, three draws and 11 losses.


Their one win came against Blue Lake where they took a 3-0 victory.


This year the team has had a few departures which will be tough to overcome but their overall core players have remained.


They will be using junior players to help fill the bench and this will be a team that is looking to be competitive against every side and will not roll over easily.


This week they play Blue Lake where they will be looking to steal a point after having success against them last year.



Millicent Women


Last year Millicent had a pretty good season, ending up fourth with six wins and nine losses. Throughout the year Millicent had a few good wins and a few bad ones too. Their finals hopes were short as they lost to Inter 4-0 in finals.


This year’s team looks a bit different to last year’s with a few new players joining the team and also a few players returning from time off.


This year they will be fighting for a top four spot again but it will not be easy given how competitive this competition will be.


This week Millicent will play Centrals at MGA Park.


This game will be a good one because of how good Centrals are looking this season.