Excitement levels are reaching fever pitch at Yoogali SC as they prepare for their opening home game of the NPL2 campaign.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After starting the season off with a 4-1 win over Brindabella Blues and then having the bye, the Yoogali SC side will be looking to hit the ground running when they take on O'Connor Knights.
Yoogali SC coach Luke Santolin said his troops couldn't wait to step out onto the park on Sunday afternoon.
"There is a massive sense of pride amongst the boys that we are playing in the NPL in the first place but the fact that it's our first home game if we can but our best foot forward it will be a memorable day.
"It was a brilliant night at training last night (Tuesday) with good numbers, and we had a tough session, and everyone is keen for our first home game."
Santolin is expecting a tough game on Sunday but is still unsure about how the Knights will face up.
"We know that if we stay organised and we work hard for each other, we will be able to compete but that unknown factor is what makes it exciting," he said.
"O'Connor over the off-season I think they recruited five or six players from the NPL1 division when promotion and relegation was on the table so they had big goals and they have retained a lot of those players.
"This will be one of our toughest tests. When we put on the yellow and blue shirt, we believe that we can beat anyone if we play to our potential."
The Yoogali side could be forced into two changes from their opening-round win with Andrew Keady ruled out, and Andrew Vitucci is under an injury cloud.
"Andrew Keady is out with a thigh problem," he said.
"We will have a fitness test for Andrew Vitucci on Saturday morning. He will be given every chance to play."
Santolin said the replacement for Keady will be decided once they have made a decision has been made on how they want to play.
"We have a number of different options depending on if we want to be strong defensively or if we want to get the full-backs involved in the attack," he said. "We will have some discussion over the next few days and make the call, but there is plenty to choose from."
The under 23s will kick off the action at Solar Mad Stadium at 11.45am while first grade will kick off at 2pm.
RELATED