The 2022 football season is underway and that means the Bill Brackenbury Cup is back!

With nine teams in the league this season, a full home and away season will be conducted followed by a three-week finals season.

Ahead of the season getting fully underway, we spoke to each team to get the low-down on how they are shaping up for the season.

Balmain

This is Balmain’s second season in the Bill Brackenbury Cup and they will be hoping for a strong season on the back of a reasonable first season last year. Coming from AA1 last season, the team initially struggled to get to grips with the pace and physicality of the top tier competition however, after warming to the league they put in some strong performances and got some good results.

Coming into the season with a better pre-season and a better understanding of the level required in this competition will hopefully translate into a stronger start to the season and ultimately a good run throughout.

After a poor start last year, the team found their groove towards the middle of the season and made a brief push for finals before falling off the pace with a few losses to top teams towards the premature end of the season, ultimately finishing 7th. The slow start to the season and some late goals conceded certainly cost Balmain and they will be more aware this year of the level of concentration needed to finish off performances.

The team has been built upon a core group of players that have come through the ranks at Balmain right the way from junior football. This same group of players has played together for more than 10 years and there is a similar group of players this year.

With that in mind, the team has remained relatively similar to last year with the club believing the most important factor in building the team has been keeping their key group of players. On top of that, they’ve strengthened some gaps in the midfield and attack with Shay Spitz and James Pepper joining the team for the first time, and Connor Tran returning to the team after some years in the wilderness.

Burwood FC

This year will be interesting for Burwood as half of the players have previously played in Bill Brackenbury Cup while the other half of the squad are new to the competition. The club is aiming to finish in the top four.

The team had a successful pre-season, winning both of their games as well as progressing through to Round 3 of the Australia Cup before falling 11-1 to Narrabeen FC.

Several key signings were made to help build a strong foundation for the team these including several players from last year’s premier, Enfield. All other players in the team have experience playing in the National Premier Leagues or Football NSW’s League One, Two, or Three.  

Cooks River Titans

After a underwhelming welcome into the Bill Brackenbury Cup last season, Cooks River Titans have learnt some valuable lessons and are looking to improve on their performances.

With a well-planned pre-season unable to be fulfilled due to the unrelenting rain, the team will need to find their feet as quickly as possible if they are to shake-up the competition by dramatically improving on our last season's results.

The club is aiming to qualify for finals football and have brought in a host of players including former Young Socceroo and A-League player, Niko Tsattalios.

Their strong recruitment drive also sees ex-Greek professional and NPL1 championship winner, Christos Tomaras join the team as well as Donovan Papoulias (Bankstown Berries), and Fraser Park captain, Nick Dimitropoulos.

Enfield

It’s a rare occurrence when the defending champions of a competition may be underestimated, but this could be the case with Enfield after a big changeover of players over the off-season.

Despite the departures, the club feels they still have a strong squad this season and are aiming to claim the double: winning the league and then taking out the Grand Final.

Enfield have snatched Marcelo Turdera from APIA, who has been a consistent goal scorer in the Bill Brackenbury Cup for the past few seasons. They have also signed strength in Micheal Papps in the centre of midfield and Joshua Messinis out wide.

Hurlstone Park Wanderers

This team has been together for a few years now though only joined Hurlstone Park Wanderers in 2021, where the tea had a strong start to the season before it was cut short due to Covid. The team is looking to challenge for the title this season having recruited well to add to an already strong line-up.

Frank Calcagno was the leading goal scorer in 2021 and will be looking to replicate that again this season. He will be helped by a star trio of signings: Steven Georgiou, Manoli Nicolaou and Max Riganias, who have a history of playing together over many years.

Based on last year’s performance, the team is one that will be treated as serious contenders in the competition. The team management have worked hard on attracting a keen and full squad meaning that everyone will be competing for a starting spot.

Inter

After losing the final in 2020, Inter are preparing a return to the top of the Bill Brackenbury Cup standings in what will hopefully be the first fully completed season in three years.

They have made some key signings with Josh Da Silva, David D’Apuzzo, Jacob Di Mento, and Dom Di mento all looking to lift the team.

Marrickville

With only eight returning players from last season, 2022 will prove challenging for Marrickville. However, having recruited a blend of young players from within both the local community and the club, 2022 will also provide opportunities to focus on player and team development and build a strong base for future season.

Having made it clear that this season’s focus will be on development, Marrickville will measure success through the team‘s ability to consistently improve performances. They will be focusing on both developing players and the playing style so that performances improve with the view that their focus on the future will ensure long-term success.

Though still very young, midfielder Peter Lim is a crucial new signing. Having played as a junior for Marrickville FC, Lim has played the last five years in the NPL and is blessed with high game intelligence. Lim’s capacity to control a game with his passing will be central to the team’s performance and success.

Continuing in the tradition of ex-youth internationals playing for Marrickville, Terry Tang joins the club after having represented Hong Kong’s U14 national team in the Asian Youth Games.

Other Teams

APIA Leichhardt and LFC Sports are both competing in the Bill Brackenbury Cup this season but were unable to submit information in time for this preview to be published.

Feature image credit: Photographed with Love