In the East, it’s much a clearer scenario than the West. Dandenong Thunder are still going strong on 14 wins straight, but they’re followed not too far behind on Kingston City. Beyond that it’s a fairly close race for third, with mid-table being a fairly competitive area of the ladder.
***
Box Hill United (3rd)
Good: Box Hill remain in touch with the top two – and subsequently a promotion opportunity – by sitting in third. Alex Schroen’s transition from fullback to the wing has yielded dividends, and the side boasts the second best attack in the league. Prior to this week, they were also on a seven match unbeaten run from rounds 7 to 13.
Bad: The team has dropped points to Whittlesea, Springvale, Thunder, and lost to Kingston twice. So while they can be flat track bullies, putting away most teams below them on the ladder, they struggle to generate results against sides of similar ilk to them, which may ultimately decide the promotion race.
Key players: Kobbie Boahene, Caleb Ludlow, Alex Schroen
Grade: B+
Brunswick City (6th)
Good: Brunswick has most certainly proved the doubters wrong this season with improved performances and results. Brunswick currently sit in the sixth spot on the NPL2 East ladder with five wins to their name. The Spartans are definitely heading in the right direction, shaking off their cellar-dweller reputation of yesteryear.
Bad: Although Brunswick has improved drastically since last season, the Spartans have definitely shot themselves in the foot on several occasions this season. They have dropped points twice this year in stoppage time and have not capitalized on their chances in front of goal.
Key players: Frank Serratore, Dimitri Vithoulkas, Jose Portillo
Grade: B
Dandenong City SC (4th)
Good: A good run of form of late (four wins in five games, including a win over Whittlesea) suggests Dandy City are heading in the right direction, boasting one of the best attacks in the league (which may get better with a signature or two in the mid-season window).
Bad: A poor start to the season saw them pick up four points out 12, losing track of promotion aims from the outset. Three games against top sides have also yielded zero points and no goals in the process, suggesting they struggle against top opposition.
Key players: Damir Salcin, John Carroll, Shaun Filipovic
Grade: B
Dandenong Thunder SC (1st)
Good: George Andrews Reserve is a good place to be right now. A combination of the best attack and most miserly defence in the league sees the Thunder still yet to drop points this season on the pitch. Brandon Barnes continues to be an inspired signing as he charges towards the Golden Boot, with the side boasting a great combination of youth and experience all over the park.
Bad: A three point deduction earlier in the season means clubs like Kingston are still hot on their heels, with the gap not unassailable just yet. Furthermore, Osmancevic’s departure was not the most desirable outcome.
Key players: Faisal Sakhizada, Kristian Sarkies, Brandon Barnes
Grade: A+
Eastern Lions SC (8th)
Good: Eastern Lions enjoyed a decent run early, beating the likes of Brunswick, Springvale and Werribee in quick succession to acquaint themselves with the top half of the ladder. Unearthing Cameron Neales from the state leagues has also been a positive.
Bad: Losing to Bendigo (the club’s only win of the season) highlights up and down nature of club. Meanwhile Eastern also generally lose to teams above them on the ladder, highlighting that mid-table consolidation may just be their level for now.
Key players: Slavisa Saric, Sam Burfoot, Cameron Neales
Grade: C+
Goulburn Valley Suns FC (5th)
Good: Goulburn have hit some form lately with a four match unbeaten run, including defeating a highly-fancied Spirngvale while also taking a point off Kingston. The capture of former A-League man Dan Heffernan has also been a great coup for the club and region again.
Bad: Losing stalwarts like Craig Carley and Kile Kennedy has put a dampener on the season. The club also hit patchy form early, losing winnable games to the likes of Brunswick and Eastern Lions while also struggling against the likes of Box Hill, both Dandenongs and Ballarat throughout the campaign.
Key players: Hakeem Aloraibi, Matthew Lelliot, Cody Sellwood
Grade: B
Kingston City FC (2nd)
Good: It’s been a positive season to date for Kingston, who sit second on the ladder. Their great form at the Grange delivers entertaining Monday night football, with most of their stats only bettered by Thunder – in fact, if it weren’t for Thunder, Kingston’s form any other season may have warrented top spot. The individual form of players has been a delight, underscoring good recruitment.
Bad: A couple of dropped points here and there against the likes of Goulburn Valley and North Geelong have kept them off pace of Thunder, as has a defeat against the league leaders when they lost the lead. Also, if they finish second, they’ll have to get promoted the hard way.
Key players: Zdenek Koukal, Velibor Mitrovic, Damian Iaconis
Grade: A
Murray United FC (9th)
Good: Murray United seem to be doing good things off the pitch, with a professional media presence, a focus on youth (average age 19 as highlighted this week), and a couple of high-profile signings. Zac Walker a great example of quality from the region.
Bad: On the pitch, results hard to come by. One win against Moreland City is as much cheer as they’ve had to date, suffered the indignity of being first team to lose to Nunawading in the NPL era in the meantime. As such, the focus may have already turned to next season, which after all may be a step in the right direction.
Key players: Ashley Dunn, Zac Walker, Geoffrey Lino
Grade: D
Nunawading City FC (10th)
Good: A win! Finally. Their first in the NPL era. It’s been a long time coming, but a 3-1 result against Nunawading capped off three points, eclipsing their best effort of a draw last year. Another good news story to date has been Emile Damey’s invitation to the Liberian national team, which made headlines.
Bad: The club is still on track to concede well over 100+ goals for the season, highlighted by a 10-1 thrashing to Dandenong Thunder, essentially highlighting the difference between 1st and 10th in the East (even though they did well to hold off in the first half). Because of that, negative perceptions still exist about club philosophy and the club’s status in the NPL.
Key players: Felix Dimitrakis, Sam Antoniadis, David Antequera
Grade: E
Springvale White Eagles FC (7th)
Good: Making all the plays on and off the pitch to recover to 7th mid-season, with good recruitment seeing the impact of imports Dan Westmore and Dan Pykett, and now the ability to attract former players back to the club. Nik Kovacevic breathed life into the season as Springvale are no longer the easybeats of yesteryear. The club also uncovered a promising player in Damir Stoilovic.
Bad: A terrible start results-wise despite encouraging performances saw coaches Boyan Mitkov and Gus Caminos depart. There are also signs that the honeymoon period may also be over for Kovacevic, with two losses, albeit in tough fixtures, including a close fight against Dandenong Thunder.
Key players: Jeremy Min Fa, Marcus Holmes, Damir Stoilovic
Grade: B