Stability key to Bulli’s success as title looms

It’s one of the key reasons why the Illawarra Premier League team has been the benchmark of the competition in recent years.

It’s also been a crucial factor in helping the club move just 90 minutes away from another regular season title in 2018.

The foundations the club has built over many seasons have helped ensure Bulli continues to be the league's most consistent force over 22 rounds.

Of course you need the right players on deck to get you there as well.

Bulli have an abudance of talent on their books, including last season’s George Naylor medalist Guy Knight, and have importantly been able to keep that core together.

That undoubtedly gives them a huge boost from the opening day of the season.

The transition from Ben Smith’s coaching tenure to Matt Bailey’s was also seamless.

That stability at the top has played a big part in the club’s continued good fortunes on the pitch.

They will get the chance to add to that rich recent run with victory over Corrimal Rangers in the final round of the campaign this weekend.

Then theyy’ll surely be keen to chase one of the few things that has eluded them in recent times – a grand final triumph.

This year will provide another good opportunity for them to break that drought, but there will be no shortage of threats trying to stop them again in 2018.

Obviously Wollongong Olympic present the main danger and have had a remarkable season themselves.

But as Port Kembla proved twelve months ago, anyone can lift the silverware regardless of where they finish in the top five.

At the other end of the table it’s a different story.

Picton Rangers days in the Premier League are set to be over.

After a couple of seasons fighting towards the bottom, they will be on their way back to the District League.

Like several clubs that have gone down in recent years, it might prove to be the move that the club needed to get back on their feet.

It was certainly the case for Coniston and Bellambi, who will fight it out for the District League title and the right to be promoted on the last day of the campaign.

Both clubs deserve to come up after excellent seasons.

It wasn’t so long ago that both were in the Illawarra Premier League, but they’ve since done a fantastic job rebuilding in the lower divisions.

A District League title would help complete that rebuild.