GK: Nikola Roganovic (South Melbourne)
Man-of-the-match in the win against Avondale, Roganovic played like a man possessed in net. Made two cracking reflex saves, while he also had to scramble to deny Mass Murdocca’s powerful effort from range.
LB: Dylan Bresolin (Bulleen Lions)
The Bulleen fullback had the better of opponent Jamie de Abreu in the tightly contested 1-1 draw with Port Melbourne. In a game that could’ve gone either way, he did well to nullify the threat that the pacy winger possesses, eventually forcing the attacker off on the hour mark.
CB: Michelle Crazia (Avondale FC)
The Italian centre-half was Avondale’s best in what could be considered an unlucky loss for the club. Applied plenty of attacking pressure in search for an equaliser, linking up well with the midfield, while also spurning three good chances to equalise. He however was caught out trying to push forward in the dying embers of the contest in conceding the second.
CB: Steven Topalovic (Oakleigh Cannons)
If it weren’t for an injury time stunner from Port Melbourne’s Luka Prelevic, Oakleigh Cannons would’ve had three points, and Topalovic a clean sheet. Alas, it wasn’t to be but the central defender was immense in the almost win. He was solid throughout and a rare standout in the contest.
RB: Jeremy Walker (Hume City)
The fullback was a strong performer across the stretch for Hume City, despite being caught out for Harry Noon’s opening goal for Heidelberg. Provided drive down the wing as well as keeping things generally tight in a defensive sense.
CM: Jonathan Bounas (Northcote City)
The imposing figure of Bounas through the midfield went a long way towards Northcote collecting their first win of the season. The creative force first slipped through Braedyn Crowley for the second equaliser against Richmond, before effectively winning the contest with a first half penalty, which he cooly dispatched to the right.
CM: Nick Hegarty (Hume City)
It’s a welcome return to the Team of the Week for one of the league’s premier creative midfielders, who makes just his second appearance this season. He created two goals and proved the difference in a tough-fought contest against the high-flying Heidelberg United.
CM: Nikola Jurkovic (Melbourne Knights)
An injury to Ben Surey on half an hour saw the young defensive midfielder take his place in the engine room. Thrusted into a stalemate contest, he produced one of his best performances in a Knights shirt, combative, tidy and not afraid to get in the face of his opponent.
LW: Adrian Zahra (Port Melbourne Sharks)
The Port Melbourne winger was best-on-ground in the 1-1 draw with Bulleen Lions on Monday night. He was positive going forward all contest and got reward for effort with an equaliser on 67 minutes. It was a great goal too, which saw him take on a pair of opponents while also having the level-headedness to slot hoe.
ST: Braedyn Crowley (Northcote City)
Former Jet Braedyn Crowley grabbed his first ever goal in Northcote City colours, and it was an absolute pearler. Breaking the lines on the half hour mark, he took one touch before curling beautifully into the top corner. He’ll be hoping for many more to follow.
RW: Ryan Paczkowski (Bentleigh Greens)
The Englishman has begun to find himself in a rare patch of form for Bentleigh as he put in another dominate display on the flanks. Primarily playing on the left, Paczkowski spent some time on the right, providing an assist to Chris Lucas and tracking back to help his defence across the entirety of the contest.
Bench:
Luke Pilkington (Bentleigh Greens)
The Greens fullback was exceptional coming back from injury, holding his side of the pitch well across the contest, while also contributing in an attacking sence, starting and finishing a lovely goal to open the scoring against Green Gully. Northcote City left back Nicholas Bavcar was another to shine this week.
Alon Blumgart (Green Gully)
Although the afternoon ended in defeat for Green Gully, midfielder Alon Blumgart more than held his own coming up against the tough bodied Troy Ruthven and Wayne Wallace, and the crafty Tyson Holmes. He was up against it but comes out of the result with his head held high after an efficient performance.
Stefan Nigro (Melbourne Victory)
A busy performance from the young utility, Nigro was his usual energetic self, retaining possession and bursting forward with the ball. One of those runs resulted in the equalising goal for Victory as he slotted low past O’Farrell in goals. A telling impact on the contest – albeit an accidental one – was the clattering of legs between him and Ben Surey, which saw the latter make way on half an hour.
Yusei Kitade (Pascoe Vale)
In a fairly dire night of football at Jack Edwards Reserve, Japanese midfielder Yusei Kitade injected a small spark of creativity into the contest. He was nippy and moved well on the ball in a game where Prelevic stole a point at the death with a great goal.
Joshua Barresi (Bulleen Lions)
Another bright spark in the Bulleen, Port Melbourne clash, new signing Josh Barresi has continued to made an immediate impact at the club. Displayed a great touch and had a number of good moments linking forward.
Stipo Andrijacevic (Melbourne Knights)
As always, Stipo Andrijacevic provided a good focal point for attacks. While not too many chances fell his way against Melbourne Victory, he more than played his role with two assists, the first a cut back for Josh Brekalo, the second a beautiful glancing header for Jason Hicks’ late winner.