Photo: Smile for Peter
There was fair reason to be excited about South Melbourne’s return to the NPLW in 2017 given the wealth of talented players the club managed to attract in the off-season.
While there were some familiar names in the form of the returning Tiffany Eliadis and Jamie Pollock – who both worked under the same backroom staff two seasons ago – top-flight mainstays Alex Gummer, Antonia Niteros, Britt Thomas, Michelle Verzi, Julia Nicolaci and Melina Ayres all joined to provide a stable working base at the club.
However, South’s success in the opening five rounds has not been heavily reliant on their recruiting strategy, rather it has been a culmination of a talented base of juniors who have enjoyed a seamless introduction into the NPLW and the guidance of March’s NPLW Manager of the Month, Socrates Nicolaidis.
With Gummer yet to feature for the club and Pollock, Cheal and Nicolaci also missing fixtures, ‘Soc’ hasn’t been afraid to give youth a chance, and it has largely paid dividends, with the club sitting pretty in third on the NPLW ladder.
Nicolaidis has utilised a narrow 4-4-2 formation in the opening five rounds which has seen a heavy reliance on the fullbacks to provide width. In has stepped Tasmania Aimee Medwin and former Caulfield United Cobras and Alamein FC defender Victoria Argyropoulos. The teenagers have started every fixture since joining the club in the off-season, and have been two of South’s most consistent performers, providing drive down the flanks.
In goal, Nicolaidis has offered opportunities to both Molly-May Ramsay and Cassandra Zaffina, two budding goalkeepers who have thrived after having been thrown into the deep end. Forward Caitlin Greiser is another player who has reaped the rewards of a string of top-flight appearances, equalling her goals output (three) from the 2015 WPL season within the opening month in 2017.
Opportunities have also presented themselves to more senior youngsters Rachel Jarvis and Renee Laszczak, while under 18’s talent Bryannen Gurr, Chloe Bellingham, Leah Scroggie and 15-year-old Kathryn Vlahopoulos have all been integrated into the senior fold.
The fact that they’ve fashioned four wins from five fixtures with such an inexperienced line-up has been made all the more impressive when you consider that renovation work at Lakeside Stadium has seen the club travel away for all five of their fixtures to start the season.
A 3-0 defeat to Box Hill United in the opening round failed to set the tone for the season, as South embarked on a four-game winning streak, including victories over Heidelberg United, Bayside United and Southern United. The magnum opus for Nicolaidis’ side was their crushing performance to deliver reigning NPLW Champions Calder United their first competitive defeats since July last year and effectively put their name amongst the front-runners for the new campaign.
Their attacking intent has been another hallmark of their game to start the season, as they’ve averaged a highly-competitive three goals in their last four fixtures. Nicolaidis has gotten the best out of former Alamein FC and current Melbourne City winger Melina Ayres, who has been deployed in a front two alongside the aforementioned Greiser. Eight goals in her last four games speaks wonders of her impact on the team, while others like Britt Thomas have offered ample support when utilised.
With a stretch of eight consecutive fixtures to be played at Lakeside in April-May, the youngsters of South Melbourne will be presented a golden opportunity to establish themselves as a real title contender, so long as Nicolaidis can keep the confidence flowing from his talented teenaged troupe.