Photo: Mark Avellino
When the Preston Lions defeated the Moreland (then Whittlesea) Zebras 3-1 in the 2007 VPL Grand Final, the game would herald the beginning of a trend which continued upon the conclusion of yesterday’s final round of the NPL.
Less than two years after playing out the season-decider in front of a crowd of just under 5,000 at Lakeside Stadium (then Bob Jane Stadium), the duo were relegated from the top flight with a whimper.
By then, Championship winning Lions manager Goran Lozanovski was at the helm of Hume City while the Zebras narrowly avoided relegation the following season, only to meet that fate in 2009 under Ange Postecoglou. By then Preston’s Blaze Georgioski and Zebras pair Ross Antoniadis and Tex Apostolikas were the only starting members from the 2007 decider to start their respective clubs final round fixture two years later.
Relegation from the top flight coupled with liquidation and near bankruptcy saw the financially besieged Lions demoted once more in 2011 and currently feature in the state’s third tier, a far cry from the glory days in the NSL. While the club – founded by Macedonia migrants – has recovered and is making step towards featuring in the NPL in the near future, their success of 2007 proved bittersweet given what followed.
Similarly at Epping Stadium, off-field instability and external factors affected the senior side, although the Zebras bounced back and earned promotion to the top flight once more in 2011 under Dominic Barba. The joy proved temporary as the current Bulleen boss left after just two rounds, with Joe Palatsides unable to rescue a squad with a number of former A-League players from the drop. Moreland have since remained in the second tier under the guise of Danny Gnjidic and despite a promising start to this campaign will once more feature in the state’s second tier next year.
Over at Paisley Park Soccer Complex, Altona Magic conquered all before them in 2008 and 2009 by winning back-to-back Championships under Vlado Tortevski. A star-studded squad featuring the likes of Nikola Roganovic, Michael Curcija, Steve Laurie, Nick Kalmar, Carl Recchia and emerging youngster Kliment Taseski defeated premiers Dandenong Thunder on penalties in the Grand Final, with the young prodigy winning the Jimmy Rooney Medal for a best on ground performance.
Just one year later and Vardar were relegated from the top flight and currently feature alongside Preston in State League One, although have expressed their intention to get gain entry into the NPL in 2018. The current North-West league ladders also saw financial shortages play an integral role in their slide, while their former president and influential club backer Melissa Fischer-Massa passed away in 2012.
While Magic experienced demotion in 2010, it was an altogether different story at Kevin Bartlett Reserve as Richmond stormed to the Premiership before falling to an experienced Green Gully side 3-0 in the first of four straight Grand Finals to be played at the newly-opened AAMI Park. Fast forward to three years later and Richmond were relegated alongside the disgraced Southern Stars under rookie coach Grant Brebner, with defender Erhan Karahan the sole survivor from Michael Chatzitrifonas’ class of 2010.
They eventually returned to the top flight two years later under Rick Mensink, although their current side is a shadow of the assembled squad of 2010, which included Tomi Milardovic, Michael Ferrante, Antun Kovacic, Daniel Visevic, Jesse Krncevic, Michael Catalano, Steven Topalovic, Dimi Tsiaras, Davey van’t Schip and a young Milos Lujic, who had to settle for an impact role off the bench.
In 2012, the Dandenong Thunder swept all before them by claiming a historic treble on the back of an exceptional individual season from star Welsh forward Luke Sherbon, his Canadian striker-partner Nate Foster, 18-year-old midfield revelation Iqbal Jawadi, and a formidable back four featuring captain Shane Rexhepi, centre-halves Bryan Bran and Craig Elvin, as well as teenager Andrew Mullett.
However, by June 2013, manager Chris Taylor had departed George Andrews Reserve for South Melbourne along with a host of other stars, while Sherbon had found a new home at the Bentleigh Greens.
That, combined with the considerable legal expenditure amounting from the 2012 decider had seen the club’s spending power crippled. The proud Dandenong South club experienced relegation last term having finished last on the ladder with a total of just 14 points from 26 games, with veteran Veton Korcari the only remaining 2012 starter in the side. To their credit, the Thunder are now favourites to bounce straight back after a fine season in NPL2 under Huss Skenderovic, with backroom financial troubles seemingly resolved.
And now to Northcote. The inner-northern suburbs based club celebrated promotion back to the top flight in 2009 having captured the State League One title under Peter Tsolakis. Two successful seasons in the top tier saw City finish fifth and sixth respectively with finals football, and the 2011 Dockerty (then Mirabella) Cup being memorable highlights. However, their success did not go unnoticed as Tsolakis joined South along with several of Northcote’s stars, including 2010 Golden Boot winner Trent Rixon, 2011 FFV Gold Medallist Jason Trifiro and brother Glen, as well as emerging young left-back Brad Norton, who had spent some time with Adelaide United in the A-League following his season with Hercules.
Many expected the club to struggle in 2012 as Lozanovski took over with considerable squad turnover, although such a script was quickly scrapped as City secured finals football. One year later and Northcote became the toast of Victorian football as they defeated the Bentleigh Greens in a Grand Final classic, having earlier secured the minor premiership.
The spine of the squad had been assembled during the Tsolakis era, consisting of players such as captain Adrian Chiappetta – who arrived at the club in 2009 from the Frankston Pines – young defender Kristian Konstantinidis – who joined from Bulleen in 2011 – goalkeeper Chris Theodoridis, defender Hayden D’Agostino, midfielder Nick Tzoulis, forward James Kalifatidis and former Bentleigh attacker Dean Piemonte.
Others had arrived at John Cain Memorial Reserve under the new manager having been deemed surplus to requirements at their previous clubs or not wanted by others in the top flight. These included Lujic, who captured the first of his four Golden Boots in 2013, the versatile Bonel Obradovic, playmaker Alex Rojas, former South Melbourne midfielder Marino Gasparis and ex-Richmond star Michael Catalano. Shrewd requirement had seen Lozanovski also secure the services of unheralded Kiwi defender Michael Eager, South Australian midfielder Evan Kounavelis, in addition to unknown youngster Rashid Mahazi.
However, like the aforementioned clubs, City would be victims of their own success as Mahazi joined Melbourne Victory, while Lujic, Eager and Konstantinidis all joined South. Chiappetta, Piemonte and Obradovic all ended up at Oakleigh as Northcote finished the inaugural NPL campaign mid-table in 7th, with a number of youngsters like Wade Dekker impressing.
By 2015, the remnants of the class of 2013, coupled with some fresh new young faces helped the club secure their NPL status with another mid-table finish, although Lozanovski tendered his resignation at season’s end.
The board entrusted respected 20s manager and clubman Alex Gymnopoulos to steer Northcote to safety in 2016 with an inexperienced squad, hardly the ideal environment for a man embarking on his first coaching role in senior football. The lack of resources available to the rookie coach saw Hercules struggle to attract high-profile signings in the off-season and when the season began, the wheels began falling off as City lost six of their opening seven games.
Gymnopoulos departed with Lozanovski returning from a spell as assistant at Port Melbourne, and was assured he would be given the required capital to recruit players in the mid-season transfer window who would help Northcote avoid relegation. In came the likes of Braedyn Crowley, Marcus Duncan, Keenan Gibson, Todd Norris, Borbor Sam and Anthony Bouzanis from interstate, Canadian defender Zac Drake, as well as locals James Papadimitriou, Cody Martindale, Alex Dao and Anthony Taranto.
Despite the considerable squad turnover and improved results, Northcote’s top flight fate was confirmed on a miserable Sunday at Jack Edwards Reserve as Oakleigh ran out comfortable 3-0 winners. The combination of a poor off-season recruitment, a winless start to the campaign, and late fade-outs from winning positions late on in the season cost the 2013 VPL Champions as they now begin to face life in the state’s second tier for the first time since 2009.
As evidenced, their plight is not an unfamiliar one in the context of Victorian football, where many teams either budget or plan their way to Championship glory only to be dismantled shortly afterwards as victims of their success, or due to financial restructuring from clubs who are unable to retain the necessary funds to ensure their top-flight status.
For Northcote, the future raises many of questions. Will they meet the fate of the likes of Preston, Altona and Moreland who have since failed to cement their position in the top-tier, or will they follow the path of Richmond or possibly Thunder who could secure a quick return to the NPL with victory in their final two games of the season. However, surely it must be asked, how and why did it have to come to this for a team that dominated all before them only three years ago.
VPL Grand Final curse 2007-2013
Relegated clubs highlighted:
2007 – Preston Lions def. Moreland [nee Whittlesea] Zebras
2008 – Altona Magic def. Melbourne Knights
2009 – Altona Magic def. Dandenong Thunder
2010 – Green Gully Cavaliers def. Richmond SC
2011 – Green Gully Cavaliers def. Oakleigh Cannons
2012 – Dandenong Thunder def. Oakleigh Cannons
2013 – Northcote City def. Bentleigh Greens