The State League 1 season is right around the corner, with the first round kicking off this Saturday. We take a look at each of the competing clubs in their battles for promotion and relegation respectively.
Please note, information in this article is referred to the 2021 Football SA Media Guide, which is sourced from information sent directly from clubs.
Adelaide Omonia Cobras FC
The Cobras have sought out experience to add to their squad for the upcoming season as they look to hit the ground running after relinquishing in State League 2 for the past five years. Veterans Perry Mitris and Matt Canny headline Cobras’ offseason additions, hoping to ensure their stay in State League 1 isn’t a short one. John Falidis’ side will face tough challenges in the opening rounds, where points may be scarce, as they meet Birkalla and Para Hills in back-to-back weeks.
Coach: John Falidis
Assistant Coach: Dino Paris
Captain: Callum Piantadosi
Squad: 25 Callum Piantadosi, 12 Andrew Orphanou, 4 Daniel Scorsonelli, 5 George Hristakopoulos, 6 Dion Gazettas, 7 Anthony Francesca, 8 Nicholas Visvardis, 9 Perry Mitris, 10 Daniel Ryles, 11 Terry Theodorou, 2 Matt Canny, 13 Anthony Tropiano, 16 Elias Vlassis, 18 Sebastian Chehade, 15 Andreas Panayi, 3 Stefan Didone, 14 Anthony Colangelo, 22 Alex Komjlenovic, 17 Andrew Nicola.
Ins: Perry Mitris (Adelaide City FC), Matt Canny (Western Strikers SC), Daniel Ryles (Adelaide Hills FC), Anthony Colangelo (Croydon FC)
Outs: Steve Savino (Adelaide University SC), Dylan Pickert (Raiders SC), Andrew Tamburrino (retired), Jonni Corbo (retired)
Adelaide Hills FC
Adelaide Hills will face an uphill battle in backing up their surprising 2020 form, which saw them finish one point out of a finals spot after losing key players Lewis Farquhar and Kyle Markham to White City. The Hawks’ 2020 Golden Boot winner Daniel Hosking will have added pressure on his shoulders in front of goal if the club hopes to push on from last season’s form and make a finals appearance.
Coach: Gareth Von Duve
Captain: Nathan Elliot
Squad: 2 Nathan Elliot, 1 Connor Hudson, 88 Owen Smith, 5 Nick Walker, 15 Jared Daly, 7 James Lenzi, 10 Daniel Pauli, 23 Jake Loechel, 9 Ollie Grant, 17 Daniel Hosking, Adam Tredrea. Mitch Keegan, Jarrah Gardener, Sam Thomas, Liam Mullen, 8 Callum Elms.
Ins: Callum Elms (Cumberland United FC) Liam Mullen (nil), Adam Tredrea (nil), Sam Thomas (Cove FC)
Outs: Lewis Farquhar (White City FC), Kyle Markham (White City FC), Daniel Ryles (Cobras), Jake Forrester (nil), Callum Hutchins (nil).
Adelaide Victory FC
Adelaide Victory hopes new coach Rick Cerracchio can improve on last season’s form, which saw them miss out on relegation by two points. NPL Veteran Paul Blefari and White City’s John Atkinson join the revamped Victory squad, with the pair tasked with improving the backline after conceding 65 goals last season. Victory has retained large portions of their attack, which boasted the joint fifth-highest goal record in the league last year. Improvements on defence, mixed with the attacking power of last year, will give the club hope of moving up the table this season.
Coach: Rick Cerracchio
Captain: Vasilios Tryfopoulos & Pierce Mason-Stephens
Squad: Pierce Mason-Stephens, Vasilios Tryfopoulos, Alex Metanomski, Paul Blefari, John Atkinson, Marco Krantis, Michael Birbas, Thomas Capogreco, Eric Scardigno, Liam Andijanto, Domenico Talladira, Ben Toffoli, Matthew Centofanti, Andre Machochi, Yasumasa Ueda, Philip Cash, Anthony Buccella, Mariano Martin, Jake Forrester, Jozef Kogoj, Kieran Blackett
Ins: Vasilios Tryfopoulos (nil), Paul Blefari (nil), John Atkinson (nil), Jozef Kogoj (nil), Ben Toffoli (nil), Kieran Blackett (nil).
Outs: Riley Ward, Anastasios Savvoudis, Alex Demasi, Marcello Paola, Joaquin Torres, Harry Aplin
Eastern United FC
New coach Gabriel Markaj will face an uphill battle in avoiding the drop this season after inheriting a very different squad from last year's promoted side. The new additions will need to gel quickly, as they face teams expected to finish in the lower half of the table in the opening rounds. Aaron Acton's departure will raise questions around Eastern United’s ability in front of goal, a defining feature of the red and blacks last year, raising questions around the team's ability to outscore their competition.
Coach: Gabriel Markaj
Captain: Diego Ramos
Squad: Dawson Bojanic (GK), Hermann Fombason, Marwan Abdullahi, David Preka, Nikolin Matija, Diego Ramos, Jack Tamkin, Richard Sokiri, Fabrice Iradukunda, Willian Smithson-Tomas, Angelo Salamone, Eddie Dello, Mulongecha Machochi, Marcus Ellul, Giovannangelo Caretti, Matuza Binyangi, Christopher Mercorella, Nicholas Scalzi, Henry Heaney.
Ins: Information not provided by the club
Outs: Information not provided by the club
Fulham United SC
Fulham’s Marco Mittiga bagged just under half of his team’s goals last season, with a record of 14 goals in 14 games. That goal-scoring form saw Fulham record the third-worst goal record last year, with only the bottom two teams fairing worse. As the competition improves, the black and whites will need to find Mittiga help, relying on him less, if they wish to finish higher up the table in 2021, alleviating the relegation pressure.
Coach: Tony Galanoploulos
Captain: Daniel VossPioto
Squad: Daniel VossPioto, Michael Giorgines, Michael Shinnick, Anthony Babb, NickyJoe Caruso, Marco Mittiga, Joseph Punturieri, Mark Cavallin, Alec Maiolo, Sebastien Mazzarino, Joshua Negrean, Ben Takos, Elijah Makris, Connor Gollath, Stephan Lebloond, Joe Bingham, Matthew Davies, Andre Silvi, Athan Karkafiris, Harris Vukic.
Ins: Marcus Basso
Outs: Information not provided by the club
Modbury Jets SC
Modbury's new head coach Maurice Natale looks to rebuild the Jets form and confidence that saw them win only four games in their relegation destined NPL season last year. The retention of their Club Player of the Year and top goal scorer Donovan Pollock will be boosted with the addition of Robbie Lippett, as the northern-based club look to seek promotion out of State League 1 once again.
Coach: Maurice Natale
Assistant Coach: Robbie Lippett
Captain: Jesse Francesca
Squad: 1 Keiran Griffiths, 2 Michael Doyle, 3 Jesse Francesca, 4 Zac Gomez, 5 Cameron 0'Doherty, 6 Daniel Pritchard, 7 Paul Radice, 8 Peter Terminello, 9 Dylan Tripodi, 10 Thomas Veart, 11 Harrison Content, 12 Lachlan Barr, 13 Rhys Turner, 14 Daniel Ditroia, 15 Darsem Shaski, 16 Robbie Lippett, 17 Donovan Pollock, 18 Paris Duffield, 19 Stanley Hlawn-Ching.
Ins: Lachlan Barr (Campbelltown City SC), Darsem Shaski (Eastern United FC), Paris Duffield (Eastern United FC), Robbie Lippett (Eastern United FC)
Outs: Nathan Farell (Elizabeth Downs SC), Shaun McGreevy (Elizabeth Downs SC), Declan Burgess (Playford City SC)
Para Hills Knights SC
After a disappointing season in the topflight, where they only won three games, the Knights will be looking to hit the ground running this season, rebuilding their confidence. Sticking with Theo Tsiounis, and only losing three players, will give the team a sense of familiarity the club will use to finish high up the table. Para Hills promotion hopes will rely on their goalscoring form being found again after only bagging 18 in the NPL last year.
Coach: Theo Tsiounis
Assistant Coach: Kosta Dimopoulos
Captain: Kieran McNally
Squad: 4 Kieran McNally, 21 Jordan Findlay, 5 Franz Pjetri, 7 Yianni Nestoras, 8 Andrew Maio, 18 Mohammed Conneh, 10 Lochlan Czapla, 11 Ali RayezMuradi, 15 James Wilson, 17 Jaweed Muradi, 23 Ben Head, 77 Stephan Travaglione, 6 Mohammed Donzo, 9 Remell Davis.
Ins: Remell Davis (Victoria), Yianni Nestoras (Western Strikers SC), Ben Head (Metrostars SC)
Outs: Isaac Mullen (Adelaide Blue Eagles), Will Hendon (Adelaide Olympic FC), Paul Wilson (Adelaide Blue Eagles)
Playford City SC
Playford’s State League 1 Coach of the Year Ben Moore will look to improve upon their fifth-place finish from last year. New additions Josh Farrell, Dechlan Burchell, and Michael Mullen will join a large portion of their 2020 squad that boasted the joint second-best defensive record in the league. Daniel Ryan, last year’s fourth-highest goalscorer in State League 1, will have added pressure to find the back of the net this year, as the Patriots look to improve their goalscoring form, which was the worst out of the top six last season.
Coach: Ben Moore
Assistant Coach: Rayan Bastable
Captain: Daniel Ryan
Squad: 10 Daniel Ryan, 1 Declan Murchell, 2 Michael Acton, 3 Brayden French, 4 Sadegh Heidari, 5 Tyson Herriman, 6 Keegan Osborne, 7 Riak Mayol, 8 Michael Oliver, 9 Josh Farrell, 11 Jackson Kurtz, 12 Matthew Capone, 13 Bol Mapor, 14 Rhyce Townsend, 15 Michael Mullen, 16 Brad Matthews, 17 Jiela Ajak, 23 Brad Ballentine, RGK Brayden Andermahr, RGK Evan Toskas.
Ins: Josh Farrell (Modbury Jets SC), Dechlan Burchell (Modbury Jets SC), Michael Mullen (Brahma Lodge SC)
Outs: Chol Wel (Adelaide Olympic FC), Anthony Capaldi (retired)
West Adelaide SC
West Adelaide’s re-signing of playmaker Ricardo Da Silva and goal scorer Aaron Acton will look to improve upon an attack that was, already, the second-best in the league last year. West Adelaide’s promotion hopes rely on improving their defence, having the second-worst record in that area—for the top six—in 2020. Implementing both gives coach Vasili Parhas one of the best cases in the league for a potential venture into the National Premier League.
Coach: Vasili Parhas
Assistant Coach: Dom Sinorello
Captain: Ricardo Da Silva
Squad: Kosta Zacharopolous (GK) #21, Richard Goss (GK) #1, Ricardo Da Silva #10, Aaron Acton #9, Chris Annicchiarco #23, Dimi Toumazos #12, Ethan Nassau #11, Evan Kostopoulos #5, Jack Yull #4, Jacob Handley #3, Jake Watson #2, Kristos Stefanopoulos #7, Nicholas Stefanopoulos #18, Jordan Stefanopoulos #17, Nico Andre #8, Paul Espina #13, Peter Katsambis #14, Tyler Bailey #20, Billy Amanatidis #19.
Ins: Information not provided by club
Outs: Information not provided by club
West Torrens Birkalla SC
Birkalla will be hoping that Jason Trimboli’s promotion experience rubs off on his new team, as they look to recover from their poor form last season that saw them miss out on a finals spot. Trimboli will need to improve the West Torrens based club’s defensive record, which was the fourth worst in the league last year. Improving in that area and maintaining their attacking threat—even with the Terence Carter debacle—will give Birkalla a fighting chance of a final’s appearance and potential push towards promotion.
Coach: Jason Trimboli
Captain: John Paul Cirillo
Squad: 80 John Paul Cirillo, 1 John Solari, 20 Charlie Yull, 4 Christopher Ashwood, 2 Michael Camacho, 3 James Polli, 5 William Plush, 7 Daniel Crossing, 8 Jake Monaco, 9 Calvin Mbarga, 10 Terence Carter, 11 Trey Williams, 15 Luca Trimboli, 18 Scott Harrison, 19 Thomas King, 25 Liam Conway, 26 Tyreece Conway, 91 Jasmin Sudic, 6 Anthony Quici.
Ins: Jasmin Sudic (West Adelaide SC), Jake Monaco (Raiders SC), Luca Trimboli (Modbury Jets SC)
Outs: Daniel Solari (Sturt Lions SC), Peter Katsambis (West Adelaide SC), Diego Ramos (released/visa), Salvatore Romano (released), Jack Minna (released), Samuel Tesfagabr (retired), Davide Zerillo (retired)
White City FC
White City’s heartbreaking loss to Sturt in the Grand Final last year spurred them on to make big signings this offseason in their bid to re-join the NPL after relinquishing in State League 1 for the past five seasons. Experienced signings of Tom Love, Evan Kounavelis, Kyle Markham, Lewis Farquhar and Jacob Butler-Bowden make White City’s case of promotion one of the strongest in the league this season. After last season’s misfortunes in the final’s series, White City will look to take control of their promotion bid early and are expected to hit the ground running, making a case for the top spot.
Coach: Damian Mori
Assistant Coach: Gyawe Jonas Salley
Captain: Chahine Noujaim
Squad: 17 Chahine Noujaim, 13 Deale Chamberlain, 2 Hayden Walker, 4 Rastko Lujic, 5 Shane Tobias, 6 Shannon Day, 7 Jace Cummings, 8 Stefan Simic, 9 Kyle Markham, 10 Lewis Farquhar, 3 Matt Jones, 11 Evan Kounavelis, 16 Karl Phelps, 12 Antonios Natsiopoulos, 18 Anthony Dimas, 21 Nikola Jokic, 14 Jacob Butler- Bowden, 20 Tom Love, 23 Jacob Disotto.
Ins: Tom Love (Adelaide City FC), Matt Jones (Adelaide City FC), Evan Kounavelis (Adelaide Blue Eagles), Kyle Markham (Adelaide Hills FC), Lewis Farquhar (Adelaide Hills FC), Jacob Butler-Bowden (Adelaide Olympic FC)
Outs: Harley Gepp, Jonathan Negus (Modbury Vista SC), Yuichi Hasegawa (Para Hills Knights SC), Alexei Essex (Port Adelaide SC)
Western Strikers SC
Coach: Mauro DeMarco
Captain: Information not provided by club
Squad: Information not provided by club
Ins: Information not provided by club
Outs: Information not provided by club