Another passes by and another dominant month by Dandenong Thunder, who continue their winning streak. In amongst all that comes another bag of goals from Brandon Barnes. But it’s not all just about Thunder, with many other impressing throughout the month.
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GK: Kile Kennedy (Goulburn Valley Suns*)
A Cobram junior, Kennedy has been immense behind the sticks for the Suns – which perhaps explains his Bentleigh move – over the last month, particularly in their away victory over Werribee, where he produced a number of important saves to lead Nick Kalafatis’ side to all three points. A clean sheet against Springvale rounded off his month for the 27-year-old, who returned to Shepparton this year after spending the last few season playing his club football in Iceland.
RB: Nick Modaffari (Dandenong Thunder)
The former Kingston defender often flies under the radar and has been a vital component of his side’s success this season, starting all 14 fixtures. His consistent displays often nullified the threat of opposing forwards and the 24-year-old has now found his feet at the state level after spending a few years plying his trade in Italy.
CB: Hakeem Aloraibi (Goulburn Valley Suns)
The classy defender has been at the heart of a solid Suns defensive unit which only shipped in four goals over the course of the month, while recording three wins and a draw. The former Bahraini international finished May in ideal fashion as his first-half strike gave his side all three points against Springvale, while keeping a clean sheet at the back by restricting the amount of opposition chances.
CB: Faisal Sakhizada (Dandenong Thunder)
The Afghan international has hardly put a foot wrong all season and is rewarded with his second TOTM selection this season having featured on the bench in March. Featured in all five games over the course of the month as his side conceded a mere two goals, while also scoring the crucial winner with his head in the 1-0 win over rivals Springvale.
LB: Hamish Millar (Kingston City)
The 21-year-old former Springvale White Eagles winger has ensured that younger brother Matt isn’t the only one in the family earning the plaudits for his astute performances. With injuries to defenders Ryan Love and Zdenek Koukal crippling Nick Tolios’ side this month, Millar stepped up into a less familiar position in defence and stood out, also adding a goal to his credit against Brunswick.
CM: Caleb Ludlow (Box Hill United)
The hard-working 21-year-old midfielder has been ever-present in the centre of the park for Greg Kassidas’ men, with his performances key to United consolidated third place on the standings, having collected three wins and a draw in May. Technical and enterprising, his passing rate would have to be one of the most efficient in the league.
CM: Shaun Filipovic (Dandenong City)
The 22-year-old has been a constant shining light for Hajduk this campaign, taking his game up to another level with a string of solid performances over May. Strikes against Sunshine and Nunawading have seen the box-to-box midfielder take his season tally up to three, while also developing a sound midfield partnership with enforcer Enes Sivic.
AM: Velibor Mitrovic (Kingston City)
Having spent the bulk of April out with an injury, the 24-year-old playmaker came back to full fitness with a bang in May as he led City’s charge in keeping pace with the table-topping Thunder. A hat-trick in Bendigo, in addition to the opener against Brunswick, were rounded off by a man-of-the-match performance in the 3-2 away win at Box Hill on the weekend, with Mitrovic grabbing a brace to take his season tally into double digits.
RF: Damir Stoilovic (Springvale White Eagles)
A third TOTM appearance for the 18-year-old, who once more starred for Springvale with a number of eye-catching displays. Began the month scoring the winner in an upset defeat of the Moreland Zebras before adding another goal to his name against St Albans. A sublime outing on the border saw him grab two goals against Murray – the second a potential goal of the season contender.
CF: Brandon Barnes (Dandenong Thunder)
When you score 17 goals in 5 outings, including an NPL record eight-goal haul against Nunawading, your selection requires little justification. After taking out the NPL2 Player of the Month award in April, the Englishman turned on the style this month netting a hat-trick against Moreland City, a brace against the Zebras and a further four against the Eastern Lions in addition to his field day at Mahoneys Reserve last Saturday.
LF: Gonzalo Freddi (Dandenong City)
The diminutive Argentine forward came of age this month with a string of fine performances while also finding the back of the net on six occasions. A goal in a dominant 4-1 away win over Whittlesea was followed by a first-half hat-trick against Nunawading, before scoring two goals late on to secure all three points against Murray.
Substitutes:
Fraser Maclaren (Dandenong Thunder)
The 21-year-old custodian claimed three clean sheets to his name over the course of the month, conceding just twice in a near faultless month of football for one of the NPL’s most promising young goalkeepers, who produced a number of good saves across the month of football.
John Carroll (Dandenong City)
Assured in defence as ever, the veteran Queenslander has developed a fine defensive partnership at the centre of defence with Halil Gur, while managing to tame the threat of in-form attackers such as Atilla Ofli and Zac Walker as City climbed to fourth on the East standings.
Alex Schroen (Box Hill United)
Began the month in a more offensive role down the right wing which included scoring a brace against Sunshine as well as a 90th minute winner away to Brunswick. Has reverted back to a more defensive position recently but his versatility deserves applause. Only player on the list to continue his streak of four successive POTM nominations.
Damian Iaconis (Kingston City)
The 19 year-old scored nine goals in 18 appearances last season and has continued that form into this campaign by netting five in 14. A brace against Werribee as well as a brilliant assist for Mitrovic’s opener against Brunswick and a further strike against Box Hill highlight his excellent month.
John Pykett (Springvale White Eagles)
A key component of Nik Kovacevic’s revitalisation process at Springvale, Englishman Pykett produced a man-of-the-match display in the upset win over Moreland which included a goal before adding a brace to his name against Murray, while offering plenty of attacking threat over the five games in May.
Honourable mentions: Julien Chaumet (Kingston City), Jeremy Min Fa (Springvale White Eagles), Simon Colosimo (Dandenong Thunder), Enes Sivic (Dandenong City), Cody Sellwood (Goulburn Valley Suns), Mouad Zwed (Kingston City), Rinor Muriqi (Box Hill United)