A long pre-season is almost complete with City now just days away from beginning its 2022/23 A-League Women’s campaign.
After proving to be somewhat of a surprise packet last season, City finished in second place on the ladder, narrowly being pipped by Sydney FC in the race for what would’ve been the the team’s third Premiers Plate.
Key injuries and suspension made City’s task tough in the Finals Series, where it went down to both eventual grand finalists.
The squad has been boosted by the inclusion of some fresh faces, with New Zealand international Katie Bowen joining the likes of Daniela Galic, Bryleeh Henry, Julia Grosso, Maria Jose Rojas, and Emina Ekic as this year’s new recruits.
Head Coach Rado Vidosic said he was excited by the new additions and the young talent he has at his disposal as City looks to start its season with a strong showing against the Phoenix.
“Every year you want to improve and get better, so we are constantly looking to slightly change and adjust our football style,” Vidosic said.
”We’ve got some different players coming in this season, so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
He and his coaching stuff have had several disruptions to deal with in the lead up to Sunday’s opening fixture, with both Karly Roestbakken and Hannah Wilkinson missing early in the season.
They join Holly McNamara and Tori Tumeth on the sidelines as the young duo recover from ACL injuries.
With Wilkinson sidelined, Maria Jose Rojas was brought into the squad and joined the team on the training pitch early this week.
The team has been put through its paces during the pre-season, with a key emphasis placed upon the players fitness levels.
“Our main focus has been on conditioning the players to be ready for this level,” Vidosic said.
”This is the first week that we are spending a bit more time on our football style, so it’s been quite a hard pre-season so far.”.
“We’ve been doing a minimum of two training sessions a day, but some days we will do three sessions and we are hoping that with this different approach, we will reap the benefits further along in the season.”
With a blend of youth and experience scattered throughout the squad, Vidosic said he feels the team is in a good position to challenge for the title this season.
“Rhianna Pollicina is one of the girls that had a fantastic year on the pitch for us last season, so we can definitely expect her and a number of other girls to step up and be leaders both on and off the pitch,” he said.
“I think the excitement will come from the younger players as they’re going to be bringing some energy and some intensity into our game.
“I think it’s going to be a great mixture of experience and youth.”
“It’s then up to us as a coaching staff to come up with a good game plan for each match and then if we can execute that, we’ll have a great season.”
City will kick off its 2022/23 campaign at Sky Stadium against the Wellington Phoenix this Sunday at 1:00pm and you can tune in live and free on 10play!
