It’s hard to believe it’s the half-way mark of the season, as Round 14 marks the beginning of the reverse fixtures with each team having played everybody once already. TCF runs the rule over the club’s performances to date.
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Avondale FC (9th)
Good: Avondale’s current run sees only one defeat in eight games, which is a vast improvement on the start of the season, and now the threat of relegation looks a thing of the past. Along with this, their stature continues to grow in Victorian football with the addition of numerous high-profile players.
Bad: After five rounds, Avondale were sitting dead last on the ladder, with their woes compounded by injuries to key players (Spase Dilevski, Massimo Murdocca, Jonatan Germano etc.). Scoring goals also often continues to be a struggle, with games often dominated in possession but not put away.
Key players: Jeff Fleming, Phil Riccobene, Nick Symeoy
Grade: C+
Bentleigh Greens (2nd)
Good: Plenty of good. First and foremost they’re a tough unit to break down, with the defensive spine consisting of Jack Webster and Ross Archibald supported well by Ruthven and Wallace in the middle to concede only 11 all season. At the other end, Chris Lucas continues to score, and Ryan Paczkowski has been a revelation, plucked from SL1 to be a real diamond in the rough. All in all, they’re in a good place to have a crack at defending their championship.
Bad: A couple of blips include their woes from the penalty spot, which could bite in finals if not rectified. A couple of lapses in concentration (i.e Oakleigh loss) have prevented them from sitting top, and some high-profile signings have struggled for game time.
Key players: Ryan Paczkowski, Troy Ruthven, Wayne Wallace
Grade: A
Bulleen Lions (10th)
Good: Bulleen have proven a very competitive outfit in their first season in the top flight so far. They’ve only lost five of their 13 games so far (and all by a margin of only one or two goals), winning three and drawing five to be the best placed of the promoted sides so far. They’re defensively sound, with the equal fourth lowest goals conceded in the league. Felix Rosman continues to put in ageless performances, while livewire Sami Nour has been a revelation.
Bad: At one end they’re solid, but at the other, goals have been hard to come by. A lack of firepower has been exemplified by the second lowest goals scored in the league. They’ve also dropped points against teams below them on the ladder (Northcote, Richmond, Victory etc) which has prevented them from pulling further away from relegation.
Key players: Sami Nour, Felix Rosman, Griffin McMaster
Grade: B
Green Gully (4th)
Good: A general balance across the park has seen Gully both solid at the back (highlighted by Daniel Jones and Roddy Vargas) conceding only 11, while going forward, Liam Boland, Nick Krousoratis, Evan Christodoulou have formed a deadly trio, linked together by a functioning midfield. Overall, a huge improvement on last season’s struggles to sit in a finals spot as it stands.
Bad: Matt Breeze’s first round injury presented an immediate challenge, a huge gap to be filled on the wing. Injuries have persisted to key players, which has hampered progress to some extent. Furthermore, Gully Reserve hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground, with the club’s four defeats coming at home – not exactly a fortress at the moment.
Key players: Evan Christodoulou, Daniel Jones, Nick Krousoratis
Grade: A-
Heidelberg United (3rd)
Good: For the most part, Heidelberg has been a highly entertaining unit. Their tally of 35 goals to date is the highest in the league, headlined by leading scorer Kenny Athiu. Recruitment has also been astute, with the likes of Sean Ellis, Harry Noon, Lewis Hall, Josh Wilkins, Chris Theodoridis (red cards aside) providing adequate support to the existing squad.
Bad: The start was less than ideal. A three-point deduction stretching back to last season and a first round thrashing to rivals South Melbourne was a huge dent. Injuries have also not helped, highlighted by a period of three winless league games before this week that pushed the Bergers away from the top two. The Pasquale Gioffre episode was also … interesting.
Key players: Kenny Athiu, Luke Byles, Harry Noon
Grade: A-
Hume City (5th)
Good: The form of existing players Nick Hegarty, Joey Franjic, Chris Oldfield and Shane Rexhepi has largely kept the points ticking over as they continue to go from strength to strength, helping Hume top six position with the equal least goals conceded alongside Gully and Bentleigh. ABD Stadium is also a solid home base, with Hume only drawing once to Bentleigh and losing to South in a controversial result.
Bad: Their away form has seen Hume lose four games to Oakleigh, Gully, Knights and now Bulleen. While many of those are generally tough away trips, a title contender would want to be at least taking a point from such fixtures. Another setback were Visa issues that left talismanic striker Tom Cahill away from the match day squad for too long. On that note, perhaps high player turnover may have also had an impact on squad coherence.
Key players: Nick Hegarty, Shane Rexhepi, Jeremy Walker
Grade: B
Melbourne Knights (8th)
Good: As usual (highlighted by their PPS tally), the Knights have highly invested in youth, with the likes of Nikola Jurkovic, Nick Glavan, the goalkeeping duo and now Damien Miskulin playing important roles at Somers Street, while other ‘older’ players such as Stipo Andrijasevic also stepping up. Jason Hicks has been an invaluable addition in midfield. Even when results don’t go their way, the Knights have been able to show character and bounce back regularly – i.e losing to Avondale then beating a fired up Pascoe Vale coming off a win against South Melbourne.
Bad: When it goes bad it can go very bad, such as the Heidelberg game, where defensive frailties sometimes are exposed. Left back has been a problem position, with Stefan Cali coming and going, and Josh Brekalo and Tim Purcell also deployed there in recent times. It doesn’t help that the likes of Ben Surey, Ivan Grgic and Milan Batur have been unavailable at times.
Key players: Stipo Andrijasevic, Nick Glavan, Jason Hicks
Grade: B
Melbourne Victory (12th)
Good: It’s harder to gauge what good and bad for Victory is, given players are regularly involved in the A-League side and the more predominant focus on future development. However, three wins and the likes of Stefan Nigro, Lucas Spinella and Joey Katebian (complementing George Howard and Thomas Deng’s elevation) also flirting with senior action has been promising.
Bad: Perhaps the current coaching situation, with Darren Davies departing and a search for a further NPL/NYL coach, could be having an effect, as is the rotation of the squad considering senior action for some and departures from others. Their wins have come against Northcote, Richmond and Pascoe Vale, so they’re also not earning big results against teams higher up on the ladder, and they’re dangling perilously near relegation.
Grade: C
Key players: Joey Katebian, Stefan Nigro, Matt Hennessey
Northcote City (14th)
Good: Well, there’s one win on the board at least, and some signs of life with a few draws. Importantly, goals to the likes of Bounas and Crowley have been coming. If Goran Lozanovski’s return, coupled with the inspiration of some new signings, can bring with it some inspiration, well, stranger things have happened. It’s not like Northcote would yet be 5000/1 odds for survival, yet, with time still on their side.
Bad: Where to start. Being so far behind the pace so early in the season has left Northcote far behind. Alex Gymnopoulos’ initiation into senior coaching was a baptism of fire, the side essentially couldn’t score early given the absence of Mbarga still in India, and the defeats piled up for the current cellar dwellers.
Key players: Jonathan Bounas, Aaron Ward, Nicholas Bavcar
Grade: E
Oakleigh Cannons (6th)
Good: It’s been a vast improvement both on and off the pitch amongst the squad compared to the same time last season; Morale is peaking once more and Tsolakis, Tangalakis and co. are currently in a top-six spot. Dusan Bosnjak is fit and firing again, and Steven Topalovic has been a top recruit. Results are coming regularly.
Bad: A slow start off the blocks saw no wins until Round 4, including a defeat to Bulleen, with signs that problems from 2015 still persisted. And while there’s been a vast improvement since then, defeats like 5-0 against Green Gully show there’s still a way to go in matching their 2014 levels of performance.
Key players: Dusan Bosnjak, Steven Topalovic, Dom D’Angelo
Grade: B+
Pascoe Vale (11th)
Good: It was looking great after two rounds, with wins over Avondale and Green Gully seeing Paco sit pretty at 2-0 and on track to emulate their sixth place and finals exploits in 2015. And while it’s gone kind of pear shaped since then, the win over South Melbourne with 10 men showed the desire and fight which indicates there’s still a lot of heart and desire left in the side.
Bad: As mentioned, one win in the last 11 games says it all, really. One criticism has been a reactionary streak, where the side seems to fire up only after conceding, only for it to be too little, too late. There’s also been a lack of creative spark up front, and injuries to key players hasn’t helped.
Key players: Adam Nakic, Luca Santilli, Davey van ‘t Schip
Grade: D
Port Melbourne (7th)
Good: A general high standard of performance has kept Port at the top half of the table and in with a shot of a finals spot. There hasn’t been a long streak of points dropped which has let down the club in its two previous seasons in the NPL. A 7-0 win over Richmond was a particular highlight.
Bad: Defeats against the likes of South Melbourne, Bentleigh and Heidelberg highlights their current ceiling in terms of not being able to beat the top three sides. A victory against one of them will go a long way to proving their finals credentials. A lack of recognised target man may pose a problem, and the side loses depth with Alan Mulcahy departure, unless a suitable replacement is found.
Key players: Jacob Eliopoulos, Lambros Honos, Jamie de Abreu
Grade: B-
Richmond SC (13th)
Good: On their day, Richmond are both a formidable and entertaining side. They have the sixth best goals for tally in the competition, and can string performances worthy enough for three points. This is highlighted by a comprehensive win over South Melbourne, and a gritty win over Bulleen.
Bad: They can also be entertaining, from their perspective, for all the wrong reasons. Richmond have the ability to ship goals, and lots of them, often undoing their hard work in scoring in the first place, as seen this week in dropping two points late to Avondale. 41 goals in 13 games is the worst in the competition, three more than next-worst Northcote. That’s an average of over three goals conceded a game, and it tells the story of why they currently sit in a relegation spot.
Key players: Jake Barker-Daish, Alex Caniglia, Kris Kioussis
Grade: D
South Melbourne (1st)
Good: South look as solid as ever in their pursuit of a third premiership and redemption for last year’s grand final loss. Every position on the pitch seems covered, with each player occupying that position performing to a high standard. Results continue to come regularly.
Bad: South are sometimes unable to put away the games they’re expected to win (i.e Richmond, Pascoe Vale) showing a sign of potential complacency at times. They’re small mental cracks that may also have been papered over by the form of Roganovic, who has often single-handedly preserved vital points. The defence may be stretched by Kristian Konstantinidis’ injury and Luke Adams’ NZ call-up, highlighted by Matt Foschini reverting to centre-back from defensive midfield.
Key players: Matt Foschini, Matt Millar, Nikola Roganovic
Grade: A