Football NSW League Three Men’s 2022 Season Preview

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Another bumper year of League 3 Men’s football is set to get underway, with a host of sides challenging for the top spot.

Newcastle Jets will be looking to retain first position after a stellar campaign last year, but it won’t come easy with teams behind ready to rumble

Western Rage have a new coach in 21-year-old current Western Sydney Wanderers youth product Jarrod Carluccio, while several sides have gone through rebuilds in the offseason.

It’s all to play for in the league, and with finals finally back, it’s anyone’s game when the knockout stages feature.

Access the key information, new signings and squad lists in Football NSW’s League 3 Men preview.

Camden Tigers

Last season: 3rd – 7 wins, 6 draws, 3 losses – 27 pts

Camden Tigers have started a new era under coach Gary Seymour, who joined during the off-season.

While revolution isn’t necessarily what’s required, with the Tigers finishing third last season, a host of new signings are joining the fray.

Seymour is settling in well in an easy, enjoyable transition which has been simplified by the players, while the club looks to be in a good position with the young talent coming through; their new coach has particular expertise on this front having formerly coached Camden Tigers’ under 20’s side.

The youth will look to fall at the forefront of Camden’s campaign, and while they aren’t comparing year on year under a new coach, Seymour has emphasised that the Tigers will remain prowling in action and that the youthful squad doesn’t mean a development year is present.

The Mugridge brothers will be ones to watch out for as will Troy Seniuk and Danny Martinez for the Tigers boys.

Key additions: Scott Bridge, Brody Page, Shaun Irwin, David Scott, Jack Harris

Squad: Scott Bridge, Tyler Bromham-Fuller, Blake Brooker, Luke Caronna, Jordan Cracknell, Jack Harris, Andrew Head, Shaun Irwin, Matthew Johnston, Mathew Lane, Stephen Lloyd, Matthew Lynch, Danny Martinez, Jarred Morley, Nicholas Mugridge, Dean Mugridge, Michael O’Rourke, Matthew Pace, Brody Page, Callum Rogers, David Scott, Troy Seniuk, Bailey Simpson

 

Fraser Park

Last season: 2nd – 11 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses – 36 pts

After finishing second in a shorter, COVID infused season last year, Fraser Park is back with a new-look squad and coach in Emanuel Pais.

But despite this overturn of players, Pais cited that there were no big signings made for the squad, following on by explaining the side can’t be compared to the team from last season.

The goal for Fraser this campaign is to finish top four with an emphasis on developing and improving the players at hand.

Once again, French born Alexis Wenzel will be on hand to steer the team with his experience at this level while Benjamin Astudillo and Shu Torihara will also be ones to keep an eye out for.

Key additions: Almost a whole new squad – 13 new additions

Squad: Benjamin Astudillo, Christopher Babaian, Miki Bisceglia, Sebastian Cal, Lorenzo Fattori, Patrick Ferrara, Amaro Ferreira, Aoba Forsyth, Ishmael Koroma, Justin Lambos, Alessandro Macri, Daniel Marques, Ariah Michel, Samuel Paslis, Shu Torihara, Alexis Wenzel

 

Hawkesbury City

Last season: 8th – 6 wins, 3 draws, 7 losses – 21 pts

Hawkesbury City will be looking to wipe off a unique last campaign and settle for the upcoming season after their well-known facility David Bertenshaw Field was severely damaged in a flood last year.

They were due for seven home games to end 2021 before the postponement of the season and are focused on rebuilding their facilities while making the finals this season.

Daniel Schwarzer, brother of former Socceroo keeper Mark, will once again don the gloves while former A-League star Predrag Bojic will have a full season ahead him to cement his class on the competition.

Let’s not forget the State League experience of Gregory Kondek who will no doubt add steel to the Hawks side.

 

Key additions: Zac Reardon, Harry Drew, Zane Hickman, Will Gafa

Squad: Kwadwo Boamah- Addai, Predrag Bojic, Harry Drew, Callum Elliott, Ryan Faulkner, William Gafa, Brad Gibson, Benjamin Gray, Zane Hickman, Gregory Kondek, Kudakwashe Matsveru, James Mawein, Zineddine Messaoui, Zac Miletic, Todd Millgate, Craig Morley, Daniel Morsillo, Alexander Murrell, Zachary Reardon, Daniel Schwarzer, Michael Streeter, James Thurtell, Marco Turpeinen

 

Hurstville FC

Last season: 7th – 6 wins, 3 draws, 7 losses – 21 pts

Hurstville FC have retained the core of their squad after finishing seventh last campaign and it is this consistent approach the club hopes will bring them success in 2022.

There aren’t any marquee signings for the Croatian influenced club, and they will instead be relying on their strong culture and unit to guide them to finals this season.

Their lack of consistency stained their campaign last year, with injuries and sicknesses derailing their relatively small squad.

However, they’ve brought in cover this season, and with a new facility and stadium, family vibe and young guns at the heart, Hurstville’s persona could shine through as they set finals as the aim.

Wearing the colours with pride, club stalwart Paul Gagro hopes this will be the year his beloved club fight for promotion.

The likes of Michael Rutherford, Aleks Trenoski, Juan Esteban Punetes Botero and Jacob Botic will also be players to watch out for.

Key additions: Samuel Shainfeld, Stefan Arndt, Juan Puentes, Luis Ferreria, Nicholas Marco, Michael McStay

Squad: Pedro Almeida, Stefan Arndt, Samuel Barone, Julian Bittar, Dario Borovickic, Jacob Botic, Luis Ferreira, Jesse Gagro, Paul Gagro, Daniel Kocina, Michael Kotzambasis, Daniel Maras, Nicholas Marco, Matthew Massarotto, Michael Mcstay, Edoardo Panizzari, Stephan Perak, Juan Esteban Puentes Botero, Jacob Ritchie, Michael Rutherford, Samuel Shainfeld, Aleks Trenoski

 

Nepean FC

Last season: 6th – 6 wins, 4 draws, 6 losses – 22 pts

Nepean FC has seen a squad reshuffle in the offseason, with several senior players retiring, including captain Tom Hamilton.

The revolution has taken place with youth replacing experience – Nepean’s squad has an average age of around 20 or 21.

Nepean went through a challenging year last season, with the extent of injuries causing coach Joe D’Ermilio to write off the previous campaign.

This season will resemble a different style of play as a reaction to the revolution, with D’Ermilio stating that anything short of a finals place would be considered a failure.

Former NPL NSW Men’s playmaker Chris Godoy Bascur will no doubt carry the weight on his shoulders of controlling the teams attack with Aaron Avery, Robert Morsello and Cormack Stevens also Nepean stars to watch out for.

Key additions: Shaun Borthwick, Andre Cavallaro, Raj Singh

Squad: Aaron Avery, Michael Borazio, Shaun Borthwick, Andre Cavallaro, Mathew Crossley, Ryan Dominici, Eren Erkan, Majid Eslami, Blake Foufas, Harrison Fox, Christopher Godoy Bascur, Jack Hoban, Jade Jonsson, Mitchell King, Brendan King, James Kolic, Rory McGeown, Robert Morsello

Shane Prasad, Zeke Prisuda, Raajdeep Singh, Cormack Stevens, Richard Stewart, Edward Stewart, James Stojcevski, Anthony Trimboli

 

Newcastle Jets

Last season: 1st – 13 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss – 40 pts

Newcastle Jets will be looking to set the League 3 Men’s competition alight with their new brand of football under experienced coach and former A-League striker Daniel McBreen after a solid year in 2021 before the season was cut short.

Named by numerous coaches as the outright best side of the year, Newcastle has a younger squad this season, with a few players also currently trialling in the United Kingdom.

Players being called up to the senior A-League team always makes for a challenge for McBreen, but he has said he relishes the coaching curveballs, and that everyone has to step up and fill the shoes when required, with the target once again being top spot for the campaign.

With so much talent at his disposal you can single out almost the entire team that should really do some damage in this league. Mohamaed Al-Taay, Peter Grozos, Joseph Langlois and Adam Zervas are just some of the young guns McBreen will unleash this year.

This surely is the team to beat this year.

Key additions: Peter Grozos, Taylan Unal, Mason Fernandez

Squad: Mohamed Al-Taay, Blake Archbold, Joshua Benson, Milo Bisogni, Matthew Buettner

Mason Fernandez, Archie Goodwin, Peter Grozos, William Ingram, Jiorgio Jafari, Nicholas Kacev, Jack Kenny, Joseph Langlois, Nicholas Martinelli, Lucas Mauragis, Finnegan Todhunter, Taylan Unal, Ben Van Dorssen, Brodie Volkiene, Riley Warland, Lachlan West, Adam Zervas

 

Parramatta FC

Last season: 4th – 8 wins, 3 draws, 5 losses – 27 pts

Iconic former NSL side Parramatta FC has retained a similar squad with a few new additions for this season and have been gelling well in a positive pres-eason run.

Having beaten Macarthur Rams and Inter Lions prior to the league commencing, Parramatta FC will be going into the season with confidence in their squad after a tough period during COVID-19.

While they’ve cited it as tricky, Parramatta FC’s aim is solely to go beyond competing for top four, and they’re aiming for another trophy to add to their already illustrious cabinet at Melita Stadium.

Carrying the weight of a club steeped in history you can be sure that some of the names on offer for Parramatta FC will need to be at their very best in pushing the club’s push for promotion.

Adrian Epifanino, Marko Jez, Diego Mollina and Arbin Zenelaj are just some of those stars that could take them to the next level.

Key additions: Mumarak Saeed, Tallon Zahra, Adam Sayour

Squad: Nikola Bratic, Carlos Cabral, Milorad Cubrilo, Adrian Epifanino, Allie Jayee, Marko Jez, Matthew Joseph, Zoran Kolundzic, Michael Martinovic, Diego Molina, Jamie Nicolaou, Santiago Rodriguez, Mubarak Saeed, Housam Sayour, Thomas Todd, Filippo Vezzaro, Harrison Walsh, Tallon Zahra, Arbin Zenelaj

 

Prospect United

Last season: 9th – 4 wins, 6 draws, 5 losses – 18 pts

Prospect United have gone through a clean-out in the offseason, living up to their name and focusing on youth for the upcoming campaign.

United coach Darren Camilleri is excited about the prospects for the season, stating his side is in a better position than they were last year.

Camilleri believes taking it one game at a time will be the key approach for the young squad – within the side, twelve can still play in Under 20s.

Prospect United aren’t looking at putting too much pressure on their young squad and are optimistic and quietly confident about the 2022 season.

With Adriano Cerasoli, Poda Da, Cristian Martinez and Tom Guthrie to name a few in their roster, Prospect have more than enough power to cause many teams issues in 2022.

Key signings: Luka Zepina

Squad: Kurdvan Abduljabbar, Adriano Cerasoli, Andrew Cotton, Poda Da, Bradley Dollin, Adam Filippone, Alexander Gorgievski, Tom Guthrie, Adam Hillman, Jackson Jarnet, Thomas Knez, Cristian Gerardo Leiva Martinez, Daniel Mihajlovic, David Moreira Muller, Antonio Perri, Liam Polinsky, Alec Purves. Dean Rassios, Rocco Romeo, Praneet Singh, Dante Soares, Henry Yau, Luka Zepina

 

South Coast Flame

Last season: 10th – 3 wins, 2 draws, 11 losses – 11 pts

South Coast Flame coach Darren Jones will be leading his side from the off for the first year running this season, after taking over the reins for the last few games of the 2021 campaign.

Their big signing comes in the form of striker Fabian Iacovelli, who while coming from the local Illawarra Premier League, brings crucial NPL Men’s experience to the side having played for the likes of the Wollongong Wolves and Parramatta FC when they were once part of NSW’s elite NPL competition.

Meanwhile, Jack Balmforth, Dean Pender and Cody Waller all bring quality, and youngsters Taylan Skurtevski and Logan Mathie will be looking to impress in the backline.

After a rollercoaster last campaign, Flame believes this is the most experienced and best squad they’ve had in its short history and following making finals for the first time in 2019, South Coast is once again setting that as the target for 2022.

Key additions: Fabian Iacovelli, Logan Mathie, Dean Pender

Squad: Nicholas Armand, Jack Balmforth, Louis Connell, Joel Dowling, Alexander Galbraith, Fabian Iacovelli, Jeremy Lopez, Daniel Lucas, Logan Mathie, Matthew Mazevski, Luke Morgan, Dylan Nikolovski, Alexander Pappas, Dean Pender, Taylan Skurtevski, Justin Smith, Carlo Stella, Aden Wade, Cody Waller

 

UNSW FC

Last season: 5th – 6 wins, 7 draws, 3 losses – 25 pts

UNSW has maintained around 80% of the same squad for this season and will be looking to avoid another injury-hit campaign after the unlucky beginning to last year.

With a few crucial signings being added, UNSW has their sights firmly set on challenging for the league title, with strange injuries hopefully now firmly in the past.

The Students will rely heavily on the shoulders of Dylan Walz, Callum Fitzpatrick and Kevin Lopes while look for bright sparts from Claudio Fabiano to cause troubles for opponents this year.

Key additions: Matias Da Silva Santos, Aswin Adinanto, Nathaniel Sharpley

Squad: Aswin Adinanto, Nima Beik, Nicholas Borg, Keeghan Burke, Luke Burke, Joshua Chahal, Nicholas Croucher, Matthew Cuda, Matias Da Silva Santos, Claudio Fabiano, Callum Fitzpatrick, Noah Hunt, Mike Kenny, Kevin Lopes, Cristhian Martinez, Yanni Mavrikis, Mark Murphy, Nathaniel Sharpley, Tom Suters, Gabriele Trinco, Dylan Walz

 

Western Rage

Last season: 11th – 2 wins, 5 draws, 9 losses – 11 pts

Western Rage is beginning an exciting new era under 21-year-old coach Jarrod Carluccio, who also currently plays for the Western Sydney Wanderers’ academy side.

Carluccio is happy with his squad for the upcoming campaign and is excited to begin his stint at Western.

The club’s goals lie across being a mainstay in the Football NSW League system, while Carluccio is setting his sights high for this season, aiming to win the league while playing an attacking and entertaining brand of football.

The Bortolazzo connection of Daniel, Paul and Samuel stand out as players to watch out as well as Jason Najdovski, Robert Perre and Alessandro Tolomeo all of which will hope they can impress their young promising young coach.

Key additions: Ogun Dullak, Nicholas Benjamin

Squad: Nicolas Benjamin, Daniel Bortolazzo, Paul Bortolazzo, Samuel Bortolazzo, Cristian Brigo, Nathan Brown, Giuseppe Camera, Jacob Carluccio, Sebastian Ceza, Daniel Cooper, Ogun Dullak, Andrew Forster, George Issa, Nikola Kremenovic, Declan Monro, Blake Mottram, Jason Najdovski, Robert Perre, Adrian Razov, Michael Sada, Julian Stojcevski, Alessandro Tolomeo, Mitchell Whalley, Sa Huk Yang

-By Jack George (Chief League 3 Men’s Writer)