The inaugural Betway Premiership season saw Polokwane City retain two of their highly sought after stars defender Thabang Matuludi and Bafana Bafana winger Oswin Appolis, adding a only few unknown signings from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the team.

Rise and Shine began their 2024/25 campaign with a tough assignment away to Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 Quarterfinals, losing in extra-time after a Thabang Matuludi own goal.

The Limpopo-based side then started their league campaign with back-to-back wins over Amazulu and newly promoted Magesi, before succumbing to a 3-0 drubbing away to Orlando Pirates.

After three matches without a victory, including a Carling Knockout Cup Round of 16 exit at the hands of Marumo Gallants, City shocked the country with a 1-0 win against defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

The coach Phuti Mohafe-led side then went on another three-match winless run in the league before embarking on an impressive nine-match unbeaten streak, which saw City find themselves in second spot at the halfway stage.

However, the wheels started to come off for City, as they failed to win any of their next eight matches and were knocked out of the Nedbank Cup Round of 16 by Stellenbosch.

Rise and Shine would only manage to collect six points from their last six league matches but thankfully retained a top eight finish on the last matchday, courtesy of a goalless draw against Kaizer Chiefs.

Failure to bolster the squad during the January transfer window with more experienced players may have contributed to the decline in performances in the second half of the season.

City will need to strengthen the squad in key areas next season, especially upfront, where none of their strikers scored more than two goals each.

Here are a few key stats from Rise And Shine's season:

Key player - Lebohang Nkaki (5 goal contributions - 4 goals, 1 assist)
Top goalscorer - Lebohang Nkaki (4 goals)
Most minutes - Lebohang Nkaki (2820 minutes played)
Clean sheets - 11 (Manuel Sapunga - 6, Brian Bwire - 5)

Brice Aka joins Phuti Mohafe on coaching staff at Polokwane City