GK: Molly-May Ramsay (South Melbourne)
While Ramsay has spent the opening few rounds rotating with fellow goalkeeper Cassandra Zaffina for a spot in the South Melbourne line-up, the young shot-stopper will find herself hard pressed to drop out of the line-up for next week after a strong performance against Bayside. Two late one-on-one saves against Amy Malander kept her side in the tie, before they went on to net a late winner.
LB: Jamie Brown (Bayside United)
A composed and mature performance from the Bayside right-back, who has to squeeze out onto the left for the purposes of this team. She was put to work shutting out the width provided by South Melbourne wing-back Aimee Medwin on the left, and did so effectively.
CB: Amy Marron (Alamein FC)
Yet another good performance in the heart of defence for Alamein. Although she was a part of a defence that conceded twice, she helped limit the amount of opportunities on goal that the Bergers had, which proved vital as the Dashers came back to earn a share of the spoils. Anita Les was another good performer.
RB: Georgia Koutrouvelis (Box Hill United)
One of Box Hill’s brightest as they fought back to claim a point against Bulleen Lions. The skipper grabbed the assist for Hayley Geurts’ go-ahead goal and provided drive and potency from the right side.
LW: Kyra Cooney-Cross (Senior NTC)
The precocious young talent netted her first double in senior football, which included a fantastic opener in which she burned past former teammate Akiesha Sandhu on her way to goal. She tapped home her side’s third to put the NTC in a great position against Galaxy, but were unable to hang onto for a first win of the season.
CM: Gulcan Koca (Calder United)
Koca has been one of Calder’s best in 2017 and she put in another stellar midfield performance to help her side to a 5-0 win over Southern United. She netted her side’s second and did plenty of work in the engine room to not only apply the stops on American Courtney Hueston, but also to help create opportunities.
CM: Kristina Hall (Box Hill United)
Made herself busy in the middle of the park, putting in a trademark energetic display. Stood out in all facets of her game, from defending at one end, to her positive work in the attacking third.
RW: Rachel Alonso (Calder United)
The Calder United forward was unplayable on the weekend, as she feasted on the Southern defence to help herself to a hat-trick and assist. Testament to her performance was the fact that some good work from Christina Fonua denied her further adding to her tally.
ST: Cortnee Vine (Heidelberg United)
Two sensational goals against Alamein justifies her second Team of the Week berth this season. Her first was a carbon-copy of her goal against Bayside United the week prior, carrying the ball from beyond the half-way line before applying a low finish, and her second was a belting finish from outside the box.
ST: Melina Ayres (South Melbourne)
Like Vine, it was a world-class display of finishing from one of the league’s blue-chip forwards that earns her a spot in the Team of the Week. Her third brace in as many weeks saw South secure a last-gasp win against Bayside and she is firming as the early favourite to claim a second consecutive Golden Boot.
ST: Leigh Gray (Galaxy United)
The American forward netted her in her fourth game straight to start the NPLW season, none more important than the this one. Her goal squared the ledger in the game against the NTC, with Galaxy having been 4-1 down with 20 minutes to play. She played a huge role in pulling them back from the brinks of defeate, crossing for Lulu Al-Huneidi’s goal to start their run, while also laying off the ball for Laura Spiranovic’s first-half strike.
Bench:
Alyssa Dall’Oste (Box Hill United)
Another solid outing for the Box Hill youngster, who made a number of decent saves with the game in the balance at 0-0. Amongst this was a great stop to deny Lia Privitelli from a tight angle in the first half.
Rachel Binning (Calder United)
Southern hardly got a sniff on the weekend, largely in part to Binning’s contribution at the back. The towering centre-half was confident in possession to help control the play from the back, and took the necessary course of action when required to defend.
Kate Fotopoulos (Box Hill United)
The midfielder worked well in tandem with Hall through the midfield and helped put her side into the driving seat for most of the contest against Bulleen, although in the end, they were only able to claim a point. Only a brilliant save from Emily Shields denied Fotopoulos the contest’s opener.
Jessie Kotsikas (Bayside United)
Kotsikas toiled hard alongside Sienna Fogarty in the Bayside midfield and their work nearly helped them over the line against high-fliers South Melbourne.
Adriana Taranto (Galaxy United)
Worked her way into the contest and turned on the jets in the second half to help overturn a three goal deficit. Scored a brilliant solo goal to bring Galaxy to within one goal of the NTC with under 20 minutes to play.
Lia Privitelli (Bulleen Lions)
The winger was Bulleen’s most likely attacking outlet and despite an injury concern in the second half, she continued on to put in a vibrant display before being substituted late.
Brydie Siryj (Calder United)
The young forward galvanised the Calder attacking third with her second half introduction, playing a role in both of the goals that came from open play in the second half. Her positive contribution saw her play the killer ball for Alonso’s second of the afternoon, while she was also heavily involved in the build-up to Koca’s goal.