SOUTH Coast Flame's first grade squad have been preparing for a strong second season on the field in 2019, by making several new additions to the team.
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10 players from the 2018 inaugural squad remain, including Shoalhaven Heads-Berry's Matt White, Culburrra's Martin Thompson and Bomaderry's Darren Jones while a number of new recruits, such as Huskisson's Alex Boardman and Culburra's Harrison Ellem, join the club - which has high ambitions for the upcoming season.
For Paul Robarb's squad, 2018 was all about establishment into a new environment for players and coaches alike.
The side ended the season in ninth place, learning plenty during the course of the season.
South Coast finished their season strongly with a comprehensive 4-1 win over the Hurstville City Minotaurs - a performance which hopefully can be replicated throughout 2019.
Highlights of the 2018 season include a win in their inaugural FFA Cup match, defeating West Pennant Hills Cherrybrook 4-2 thanks to a Julio Mushaba hat-trick.
Along with this, the side put in a resilient performance to defeat Prospect United 2-1 away from home, with an average squad age of 19 years and 11 players out of 16 squad members 20 years-old or younger.
To put the result into perspective, the starting 11 would've been eligible for the under 20s game that same afternoon - as there were only three players over 20 years old in the starting lineup.
Finally, two dominant 5-nil wins over the Balmain Tigers highlighted what was a year of learning for this squad.
Looking ahead to this season, their first grade side have taken on a wide range of outfits, during the pre-season, in just a short space of time.
A high-scoring and entertaining affair against Fraser Park is one of the highlights of South Coast's pre-season, after the Flame came away with a 6-5 win - with Mohamed Krishban earning his first grade debut for the Flame in goals.
Along with the result against Fraser Park, a resilient draw against a well-drilled Dunbar Rovers showcased that the Flame can compete with teams in the higher divisions.
The side has made progress since last season, and it will be interesting as to how they can progress even further.
All this momentum will be put to the test this Saturday in their season opener against Western Condors at Ian McLennan Park, with first grade kicking-off at 7pm.
