Men’s competition
Gambier Centrals v International
Gambier Centrals and International are set to kick off the men’s Barry Maney Premier League season on Friday night as last year’s grand finalists go head-to-head at MGA Park under lights.
The back to back premiers will be looking to start their 2025 campaign on a high with a win over Centrals after a thrilling grand final match last year.
There’s no doubt that last season is firmly in the rear mirror, with Centrals looking to reload after an impressive 2024.
The Lions have recruited well in the offseason, with the returns of MeeReh Htoo and Thomas Renzi who will give a good boost to the A Grade side.
Another big recruit is Daniel Crossing who brings a lot of experience after playing high level football in Adelaide.
Both sides looked good in their Australia Cup matches despite the results and they were the two more competitive sides, which should translate to them being the teams to beat.
Given the outcome of last year’s grand final this match should be a cracking one on Friday night as the two sides kick off at 7.50pm.
Portland Panthers v Naracoorte United
Portland will make its return to the Limestone Coast Premier League on Sunday as they host Naracoorte United at Friendly Society Reserve in Portland.
Portland has been welcomed back into the Limestone Coast fold after spending the last few years in the South West Victorian Football Association where they were a fairly competitive club.
Naracoorte, on the other hand, have been struggling over the past few years, going winless in 2024 and only picking up two wins in 2023.
The Panthers will be under new leadership this season as Troy Jensen coaches the team for 2025 after serving as an assistant and U17s coach last year.
Portland has recruited well in the offseason with many new and re-signed players to the squad.
Both sides competed in the Australian Cup a couple of weeks ago and suffered big losses, but the experience will serve them well as they head into this season.
This match should be very interesting as Portland make their way back into the league with a winnable game against Naracoorte.
Apollo v Blue Lake
Apollo and Blue Lake will face off this Sunday as these two sides kick off their 2025 seasons at Webb Street.
They last met in the semi finals last season with Blue Lake coming away with a 3-1 victory.
Both sides had solid 2024 seasons with Blue Lake finishing third with some good wins throughout the year while Apollo were a bit inconsistent as they found themselves in fourth with a record of 5-2-5.
Apollo will head into the season with a fairly new and younger squad than the previous season and that showed in their Australia Cup match, despite having one of the more harder draws.
That match would have been a good learning experience for the side and new head coach Daniel Sribar, identifying things to work on and implement after playing against one of the top teams in Adelaide.
Blue Lake will hope to build off last year where they had some great moments and some bad ones, including their heart breaking loss to Gambier Centrals in the preliminary final.
This should be a competitive game on Sunday with these two sides likely battling it out for a top four spot this season.
Women’s competition
Gambier Centrals v International
Gambier Centrals and International will kick off the women’s A Grade competition tomorrow night as they take the field at MGA Park.
Centrals are coming off a solid season last year where they had good patches throughout the season and finished in fourth, before being knocked out of the finals in the first round losing to Millicent 3-0.
Inter struggled last season and never really got going, finishing with three wins which resulted in them missing the finals.
After a very disappointing season, International will look to get back to glory with this match tomorrow night.
Apollo v Blue Lake
Reigning premiers Apollo will host Blue Lake on Saturday as the two top sides from last season go head to head.
Apollo are coming off a dominant season where they finished as minor premiers with 13 wins, one draw and a solitary loss.
Their finals run was just as good as their home and away season, winning both games with ease without conceding a goal.
Blue Lake was the other top team last season, finishing second on the ladder.
The Rangers’ season came to an end in the preliminary final after a tough 1-0 loss to Millicent.
After that loss Blue Lake will be hungry to get their season under way and get back to the finals.
Given how good Apollo looked last season there is no doubt they will pick up where they left off in 2025.
This will be a great game considering last season these sides always put on a show when they matched up.
Portland Panthers v Naracoorte United
Portland Panthers will make their return to the Limestone Coast on Sunday when they take on Naracoorte United in Portland.
The Panthers will head into the new league as reigning premiers, having won the grand final in the South West Victoria competition last year.
They will be out to make an impact early on against some new teams with Naracoorte being the first.
Like the men, Naracoorte had a tough year, finishing last on the ladder with zero wins.
After a disappointing season United will be ready to bounce back in 2025.
This will be an interesting game on Sunday as it will be interesting to see if Portland’s success from last year will translate into the new league.
