2015 for Para Hills Knights Women was a test of character and the resolve, after several key players were attracted to the promise of bigger and better things. Unfortunately this is always a tough one to hold back due to the nature of the game and some clubs seeking the “better players “rather than development their own. It’s not a bad thing as some teams become stronger and greater resolve to perform and prove their own.

In that, the FFA Curriculum and the principles of the Spanish FA ( Barcelona’s philosophy ) has proven to be very effective and the extent of our junior and senior teams improving and becoming better players has seen not only the Premier league team make history but also Reserves and junior teams finish to their highest levels in their history . Player development has been priority and considering Senior team was without a Goal Keeper the team performed extremely well , draw to Metro United after being up 1 nil all game, in the dying minutes of the game a controversial decision gave a penalty to Metro United , apart from the poor sportsmanship and bad language from Metro the game was intense and of a high quality.

James Balacco ( senior coach of the Premier league women ) was pleased with the performance and heart this year, having a no official Goal Keeper , Mel Stepped up and proved to be a top level keeper , amazingly getting the most FFSA best & fairest points for any keeper in the league and showing she has a quality about her. Overall the team were unable to hold their advantages but the signs for 2016 will show a top level finish is achievable, with likely opposition teams, Adelaide City, West Adelaide and Metro U being in the mix.

Reserves were hampered with a their Goal Keeper missing and only were hampered by this, the team performed extremely well and will be a top level team in 2016, the talent pool is fantastic and home grown developed players will be a key difference .

Juniors, the 17’s and 15’s have been seen a true technical improvement and with the players showing they can be competitive and develop this new talent pool will be one to watch. With many getting selected for STIC and State team trials as well as Fiji Regional State team it clearly shows some the great girls we have at the club.

With the advent of the 2016 and the new merger with Para Hills , we can truly say Para Hills is going to be the Power House of the North and be the gateway to new players learning, developing and performing at the highest level.