Melbourne Knights have suffered a huge loss, with leading goalscorer Andrew Barisic leaving for Hong Kong pending a medical.
The news was revealed after Sunday’s 2-0 home victory over North Geelong.
Canberra born Barisic started at the Knights a decade ago in 05-06, scoring 44 goals in 94 games across four separate stints at the club.
In his first spell, the forward scored 9 goals in 40 games as Knights struggled to adjust to rigours of state league football.
After spending time in the lower German Leagues, he returned to Somers Street in 2008, scoring 18 goals in 28 games for Chris Taylor’s men as the Knights lost the grand final to Altona in extra time.
His good form saw him earn a move to Gold Coast United, where he spent the next two seasons.
A move to Indonesia and India followed before Barisic returned to the Knights in mid 2013, scoring eight goals in 11 games as Croatia made the finals, only to lose to rivals South Melbourne.
After the third Knights’ spell, he went to Hong Kong first with South China, before going to India where he played for the Keralta Blasters.
The 29-year-old once again returned to Sunshine North this year and was leading the Knights goalscoring charts with 9 goals in 15 games before his departure.
Stipo Andrijasevic will likely fill the void at centre forward left by Barisic.
The youngster scored six goals in 14 appearances for the Knights last year in that position, but only scored one in 16 from a wider area this campaign, with the solitary strike coming against North Geelong last week.
The Knights travel to Dandenong Thunder this Saturday night.
Photo: Matt Johnson