Halfway through the NPL2 West campaign and it’s Northcote City leading the way by quite a distance, but it’s the race for second that’ll likely heat up in the latter half of the season, with just five points separating 2nd to 8th. Then there’s Bendigo City’s horror season.
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Ballarat City
Current Standings: 7th
Last Year: 6th
Key Players: Nelson Salvatore, Dominic Swinton
Six wins, seven losses and a draw in-between paints a picture of inconsistency for Ballarat City. A change of name and coach at the start of the season was in the hope of a fresh start but their form has shown the very best and worst the regional club has to offer. A brilliant win at home to Melbourne Victory in round 14 showed they can match it with the best but big losses to both Moreland sides shows where they need to improve. With the horror run of form for Bendigo City, they are most likely safe from the drop and they are actually only four points off 2nd placed Zebras, so a good run of form could see them propel up the table. They will have to fight the rest of the season out without star striker Michael Trigger, who has joined Heidelberg United in the mid-season transfer window.
Grade: C
Bendigo City
Current Standings: 10th
Last Year: 10th
Key Players: Donte Thomas, Lachy Beever
It has been a thoroughly miserable 14 matches for regional side Bendigo. With just a solitary point and a goal difference of -59, it looks like it is going to take a miracle if City are going to avoid the drop. Stranger things have happened (see Leicester City) but if they are going to have any chance of survival, they need to bring in some new players who can sure up the defence and start building a base of leadership within the side. Their only point came against the 10th placed side in the East, Richmond, but it is pretty bleak reading from there, with many results ending with losses by five or six. We would all love to see a resurgence and some fight from City, but with 9th placed Werribee winning back to back games and nothing much changing for Bendigo, sadly I think this may be a job that even great escape specialist Sam Allardyce would struggle with.
Grade: E
Brunswick City
Current Standings: 5th
Last Year: 5th in Eastern Conference
Key Players: Adam Wright, Juan Portillo
It has been a steady start for the boys from Dunstan Reserve. They haven’t set the world alight but have been quietly chipping away and they now sit just two points off Moreland Zebras who are in the promotion playoff position. Adam Wright has once again been on fire with 12 goals to his name so far and has 50% of his team’s goals. Just like with Barnes/Thunder, it will be interesting to see if the other strikers can step up should they lose Wright to injury or suspension. With nine of their last 12 matches at home, which includes playing the four teams above them, they will hope to push for 2nd place and see if they can make their way to the top flight.
Grade: B
Melbourne Victory
Current Standings: 4th
Last Year: Relegated from NPL
Key Players: Christian Theoharous, Nicholas Sette
Victory have reacted well after being relegated back down the NPL2 this year. They sit in a similar boat to their big rivals Melbourne City in the sense that they are trying to find their place in the NPL format. With the majority of their players youngsters who are still trying to find their feet in the men’s game, they will be happy with 4th place at this stage. They have undoubtable talent in their side but a 2-1 loss to Ballarat City on Sunday shows that they still have a lot to learn. Christian Theoharous looks to be an emerging star with six goals in nine matches. If he can play the majority of the remaining matches, they can push on. A humiliating 5-1 loss to Melbourne City earlier in the season will have hurt them so a season of consolidation one would think from here with a potential promotion push to come in 2018.
Grade: B-
Moreland City
Current Standings: 3rd
Last Year: 7th
Key Players: Trent Rixon, Apai Ukuno
Moreland City have been very impressive this season which sees them sit in 3rd spot just behind rivals Moreland Zebras. The re-emergence of big front man Trent Rixon alongside strike partner Apai Ukuno has seen City get impressive wins against Victory, Box Hill and Brunswick. Four draws in their last five could mean the ship is starting to slow a bit but with a big 7th Round FFA Cup tie against Hume City coming up, it is understandable. Should they win that, the national stage awaits which is great for the NPL2, but could take their focus away from the league even more. A great transformation from last year nonetheless.
Grade: B
Moreland Zebras
Current Standings: 2nd
Last Year: 5th
Key Players: Amir Osmancevic, Nejc Kolman
A great first half of the campaign for the Zebras sees them sit 2nd in the league behind worthy leaders Northcote City. With only two losses to their name and a game in hand on the rest of the following pack, they sit in a very handy position as we move into the back end of the season. A little hiccup against Werribee City last week shouldn’t be too big a concern as they go into a massive 2nd vs 3rd clash with rivals Moreland City this weekend. Amir Osmancevic looks to be at his best once again after a summer move from Dandenong City and his goals will look to propel them into the promised land through the play-offs. With 1st and 2nd place in the East occupied by Osmancevic’s former clubs, there could be some added spice to the play-offs if things stay like this!
Grade: B+
Northcote City
Current Standings: 1st
Last Year: Relegated from NPL
Key Players: Joshua Knight, Matthew Whatley
An A+ start to the year. What can you fault from this team so far? In stark contrast from Richmond who came down with Northcote last year, City have barely put a foot wrong in what looks like a very short stay in NPL2. Joshua Knight has been deadly in front of goal but the goals have been shared around throughout the team and the defence has been solid, allowing only 10 goals through all season. The team’s solitary loss came to Dandenong Thunder in round 6 but since then they have propelled themselves to be 12 points clear at the summit of the table. Barring a monumental collapse, Northcote City are on their way to bounce straight back up to the top flight.
Grade: A+
Sunshine George Cross
Current Standings: 6th
Last Year: 9th
Key Players: Chris Dib, Barry Devlin
Sunshine are another team who have been very inconsistent this year but have improved from last year. Starting the year off with two hard fought draws with the Moreland sides followed by two wins got Georgies off to a great start but a drop in form has seen them fall in the standings. They may have turned a corner however in the last round, a fantastic 3-1 win away at Whittlesea Ranges means they are 6th and just two points off 2nd place. If they can continue to take the game to teams away from their own patch, they could be the surprise package of the season. Teams should not take them lightly, starting with league leaders Northcote City this weekend.
Grade: B
Werribee City
Current Standings: 9th
Last Year: 8th
Key Players: Darcey Den Ouden, Domenico Marafioti
It’s been a rough old season for Werribee City so far. A disastrous run of form saw them lose five on the bounce, conceding 11 goals and not netting once, with last season’s form man Jonathan Voulgaris departing early. However, two wins in a row including a brilliant come-from-behind win away at Moreland Zebras in round 14 could help get their season back on track. These two wins have helped them create a much needed gap between themselves and rock-bottom Bendigo City but with only 12 goals being scored all year, they need to find some form and really make sure they keep moving away from the drop zone.
Grade: D
Whittlesea Ranges
Current Standings: 8th
Last Year: 4th
Key Players: Thomas Barforosh, Janiel Silva
After finishing 4th last year, behind 3rd placed Melbourne City on goal difference, the team from Epping Stadium have really struggled to replicate that run. Vowing ‘Red-emption’ in 2017, Whittlesea Ranges’ season looks to have be ‘De-railed’ by a number of costly defeats at the hands of teams that they should be taking the points from. Consecutive home defeats to Nunawading City and then Sunshine George Cross most recently paint the picture of a team that is low on confidence and lacking the firepower they possessed in 2016. Thomas Barforosh has had a breakout campaign with eight goals, but it was always going to be a tough ask to replace Atila Ofli’s 32 goals from last year. He moved on to Hume City in the summer but his former side have struggled to move on from him. Due to the tightness of the middle of the table, a good run can see them get back on track, they are only 5 points off second place.
Grade: C-