Coach: Peter Tsolakis, Con Tangalakis
Home Ground:
2015 Season: 11th
FFA Cup: Quarter-finallists (3-2 defeat against Hume City)
Dockerty Cup: Runners-up (3-0 defeat against South Melbourne)
Club Overview/history: Founded in 1972 as South Oakleigh SC, the club soon changed its name to Oakleigh SC before adopting the Cannons name in the early 1990s in an attempt to broaden their support within the Greek-Australian Community. After their first flirtations with the Victorian top flight in the 1980s, the Cannons became a permanent fixture in the VPL from 2003 onwards and finished the regular season as Premiers in 2006. However, Grand Final success has eluded the Jack Edwards Reserve-based side, who lost title-deciders in both 2011 and 2012 to Green Gully and Dandenong Thunder respectively. A successful first season in the NPL in 2014 saw the Cannons finish second behind rivals South Melbourne under Miron Bleiberg, raising expectations ahead of the 2015 campaign.
Last season: One victory in their opening eight fixtures of the season saw the pre-season favourites in the relegation zone before Bleiberg called time on his time at the Cannons in late April. In came former Manager Arthur Papas who immediately led a mid-season resurgence which saw the club win five of their next eight games as the club welcomed several high-profile mid-season recruits. However, a string of narrow defeats saw any hope of finals football fade as Papas’ side won only one of their final 10 league matches and finished a lowly 11th. More success followed them in the cup competitions however as Oakleigh lost a heartbreaking FFA Cup Quarter Final to Hume 3-2 in extra-time, having earlier qualified for the tournament after reaching the Dockerty Cup Final which saw them defeated 3-0 by South Melbourne.
Pre-season: (TBA)
Transfer Movement
In:
Dominic D’Angelo (Mazenod United)
Ioannis Georgopoulos (OFI Crete)
Dimitri Hatzimouratis (Sydney Olympic)
Thomas Lakic (South Melbourne)
Perry Lambropoulos (South Springvale)
Corey Slevin (Bendigo City)
Steven Topalovic (Bentleigh Greens)
Out:
Ben Clarke (Altona Magic)
Kofi Danning (Hume City)
Matthew Foschini (South Melbourne)
Lambros Honos (Port Melbourne Sharks)
Lajos Hun (Springvale White Eagles)
Jake McLean (Brisbane Strikers)
Rowan McNamee (Kingston City)
Mirjan Pavlovic & Sean Rooney (Marconi Stallions)
Jakob Williams (Bentleigh Greens)
Players to watch: The Cannons can count on having one of the league’s most experienced defences with the likes of returning long-term injury casualty Adrian Chiappetta, former A-League hardman Steve Pantelidis, the no-nonsense Steven Topalovic and experienced Scotsman Aron Wilford all in contention for the two starting centre-back roles. The return of 2014 Best and Fairest Domenic D’Angelo adds midfield steel, while Belfast-born Corey Slevin is a workhorse who can chip in with his fair share of goals from the middle of the park. Playmaker Dusan Bosnjak will be looking to put recent injury trouble behind him and return to his best form while the electric Goran Zoric is one of the league’s best players on his day. New signing Dimitri Hatzimouratis will be expected to be the side’s main source of goals over the course of the season.
What to expect in 2016: With expectations lower this season out – at least from the outside – the Cannons squad may thrive in this environment with less pressure, and while they may not be seen as contenders for the crown, expect Oakleigh to push for a finals place and a high standard from Tsolakis and Tangalakis.
Image: Mark Avellino