Coach: Arthur Papas
Home ground: Green Gully Reserve, Keilor Downs
2015 Season:
League: 7th
Dockerty Cup: Round 5 (1-0 defeat to Kingston)
Club history/overview: Originally established by Maltese immigrants as Ajax Soccer Club in 1955, the Keilor Downs based club was renamed Green Gully in 1966 before dropping the Ajax in 1982. Three straight Victorian Championships from 1981-83 saw them promoted into the NSL in 1984 before returning back to the VPL in 1987.
The club nicknamed the Cavaliers established themselves as one of the state’s most respected and strongest outfits, experiencing their most successful era under Ian Dobson (1999-2005) in which they won four Championships. Two further titles followed in 2010 and 2011, however life in the NPL has not proved as successful. Gully narrowly avoided relegation in 2014 and missed out on a finals berth despite a notable mid-season resurgence.
Pre-Season: Four wins and one draw (23 goals for, 6 against)
Shepparton 0-9 Green Gully
Green Gully 3-1 Kingston
Green Gully 6-1 North Geelong
Green Gully 1-1 Box Hill United
Green Gully 4-3 Bulleen Lions
Last season: Three wins from their opening four games seemed to earmark Gully as a potential finals contender although the one defeat in that period – a 6-1 home loss to newly promoted North Geelong – hinted what was to come. A winless run extending eight matches (included an 8-2 thrashing at home by Heidelberg) saw manager Bob Stojcevski depart, while stalwart striker Matthew Sanders ended his decade long association with the club by signing for Avondale.
Veteran defender Rodrigo Vargas and former player Stephen Downes took over the reigns and immediately prompted a revival partly thanks to new signing Liam Boland, who scored 17 goals in 14 matches. 23 points out of the last 30 on offer saw the Gully end the season in seventh place and as the most in-from side of the competition.
Transfer movement:
In:
Nicholas Krousoratis (Port Melbourne Sharks)
George Lambadaridis (Brisbane Roar)
Callum Richardson (Melbourne City)
Luke Walker (Edgeworth – Northern NSW NPL)
Tyler James (Melbourne City Youth)
Ratip Cileli (Melbourne City Youth)
Anthony Ragusa (Werribee City)
Alastair Bray (Bentleigh Greens)
Out:
Alastair Bray (Central Coast Mariners)
Luc Jeggo (Floro SK – Norway)
Kieran Gonzalez
Aaron Cohen (Pascoe Vale)
Jem Berkant (Avondale)
Amadu Koroma
Rinor Muriqi
Liam Scott (Moreland Zebras)
Anthony Marafioti (Sunshine George Cross)
Hakeem Aloraibi
Omar Abdigafar
Nathan Fox
Players to watch: Former Melbourne Victory youth Goalkeeper Rani Dowisha began last season as the club’s second-choice custodian but impressed following Kieran Gonzalez’s season ending knee-injury and will attempt to do likewise following new signing Alastair Bray’s move to the A-League. Veterans Rodrigo Vargas and Daniel Jones will once again marshal the back four and still have plenty to offer, while Alon Blumgart was one of Gully’s most consistent performers last season, being the only member of the squad to feature in every game. New signing George Lambadaridis will look to rejuvenate his career at his new employers having struggled with injuries during his four year spell with the Brisbane Roar.
Ex-Oakleigh captain Evan Christodoulou scored six times from 14 appearances following his mid-season arrival at Gully last season, while both Matthew Breeze and Simon Tolli offer Papas strength from the attacking positions on the wing. New signing Nicholas Krousoratis has impressed in pre-season and will be looking to carry on his late-season form from Port last campaign into 2016 where he will be expected to complement Liam Boland in attack. The Perth-born striker was retained despite interest from other clubs following his sensational goalscoring return in the latter half of the 2015 season.
What to expect in 2016: While Green Gully may have in recent years flown under the radar in the league, they do have a strong starting XI and a proven manager at this level. Papas did well in both his spells at Oakleigh despite the contrasting circumstances behind his appointment and could just well be the man to take Gully back to the upper echelons of Victorian football.
However, much will depend on getting the best out of his players and maintaining an injury-free squad throughout the season. The club has not made finals in over two years now and that should be enough to motivate the group. Capable of matching the best teams in the league on any given day, Gully could potentially be the league’s dark horse and will be looking to secure a finals berth.
Feature image: Mark Avellino