Image: Matt Johnson
South Melbourne have secured the major coup of Melina Ayres for the 2017 NPLW season.
Most recently a W-League champion with Melbourne City, she makes the move from Alamein FC, where she enjoyed an award-winning season.
A former South Melbourne junior, Ayres made her mark in senior football with Ashburton/Alamein, where she most notably scored 19 times in the 2015 season after five in 2014.
Signed by Melbourne City for the 2015-16 season, she scored her debut goal in a Round 1 win over Sydney FC. City would go on to sweep the competition.
A standout campaign for Alamein in 2016 saw the club reach the semi-finals of both the league and Team App Cup, while Ayres bagged another 22, leading to a league Golden Boot, Rising Star and Player’s Player accolades.
National selection also beckoned as the forward was picked for the Australian under-20 squad for the 2016 AFF Women’s Championship in July 2016.
On the W-League front Ayres scored again in the 2016-17 W-League season and was a late substitute in the Grand Final win over Perth Glory.
Ayres joins Tiffany Eliadis, Alex Gummer, Jamie Pollock, Brittany Thomas, Antonia Niteros, Aimee Medwin, Michelle Verzi and Julia Nicolaci in Socrates Nicolaidis’ squad for 2017 as South look to build an imposing squad for their first campaign in the NPLW.