With the NPL incredibly nearing its midway point, some clear narratives have been developed. There are the clear league standouts, early relegation candidates and mid-table consolidators. With the A-League having arrived at its conclusion and many clubs going through their usual post-season transfers, we’ve had a look at the A-League free agents who could be good fits at NPL clubs.
Note that this is purely conjecture and shouldn’t be used as a definitive guide, nor a suggestion of actual transfers being lined up by clubs.
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Northcote City: Wade Dekker (feature image)
This is the move that probably makes the most sense. The 22-year-old forward got his start at Northcote under Goran Lozanovski, and broke through with a blistering 2014 campaign having made his debut as a sprightly 17-year-old in the 2012 VPL season. Now with his former coach returning to the helm of the 2013 Champions, could Dekker be swayed to move back to John Cain Memorial Park and aid Northcote’s survival charge? They could certainly use a potent striker to launch them off the foot of the table, having scored just a paltry three goals for the campaign.
Richmond SC: Patrick Kisnorbo
It’s all about shoring up at the back for Richmond, really. They have the ability to score goals, but ship in double the amount at the other end. Recently retired Patrick Kisnorbo is the uncompromising centre-back who may just put on his boots once more, also freeing up Roorda to move to his more effective midfield role.
Pascoe Vale: Jason Trifiro
Jason Trifiro’s best spell in the Victorian top-flight came during his time with Northcote City, where the New South Wales native won the prestigious Gold Medal for his best and fairest year in 2011. After three seasons and 37 appearances with the Wanderers, Trifiro was once again given the chance to head to Victoria, offered a lifeline from Melbourne City earlier this season. While things didn’t quite work out for the 27-year-old, a confidence-building stint in the NPL Victoria with a club like Pascoe Vale – who need somebody to provide a little midfield spark to help their forwards – could be just what the midfielder needs to get back into A-League contention.
Avondale FC: Francesco Stella
Both Kisnorbo – who was linked with Avondale last season before playing on with Melbourne City and referring Massimo Murdocca to the club – and James Brown would also be suitable additions, forming a bit of a Melbourne City Galacticos at Avondale (including Murdocca and Jonatan Germano). Dan Heffernan would also be a good addition given they need someone with goals in them to help Khrapko and Sanders up front, but we’ve opted for Stella for a return to the club where we added valuable goals and assists at the back-end of last season – plus he doesn’t take up a visa spot.
Bulleen Lions: Marc Marino
There’s no doubt Bulleen are a very well-drilled unit defensively, but goals have been hard to come by at times, with the side scoring nine all season – third lowest in the NPL. Having developed some high-profile youngsters who went on to bigger and better things, Marc Marino may just be the right fit if he can’t secure another A-League club. The youngster showed glimpses of his potential in his limited game time at City with a couple of goals, and a short stint at NPL Victoria level could do the forward no harm, as he continues to learn how to match up against hardened veterans of the world game, aiding in his transition from youth football.
Melbourne Knights: Steven Lustica
Lustica, a former Hajduk Split player with Croatian heritage, would fit right in at Somers Street. Despite being 25, with his experience in the top flight and overseas could be a great addition to aid the likes of talented youngsters Jurkovic, Miskulin and Glavan amongst others with their development.
Oakleigh Cannons: Cameron Watson
We’ve called for this signing before, but then Watson left Adelaide for Newcastle. Now he’s a free agent again, and once more Oakleigh may be a good fit. After a solid early season, Oakleigh have copped a few undesirable results, and Watson may be that additional quality to create a stronger link between the defence and attack and add more depth and competition within the Oakleigh squad.
Port Melbourne: Golgol Mebrahtu
It may seem a bit ridiculous considering their most recent 7-0 drubbing of Richmond, but if there’s one point sometimes made about Port, it’s a lack of central striker alongside the likes of Zahra and de Abreu and Stirton. Mebrahtu is capable of playing centrally, and despite a spate of injuries and not the best goalscoring ratio, he showed glimpses of his potential at Melbourne Heart, and it could be another Melbourne side at which he unlocks his best form.
Hume City: James Brown
Hume City would love another FFA Cup run akin to last year. They’ve built plenty of depth in their squad to achieve just that, and the addition of versatile midfielder James Brown would fit the framework of what they’d like to achieve. For his own personal ambitions, a stint with a club he knows will likely feature in the limelight this season would make sense for the 26-year-old. Injuries have followed the once highly-rated midfielder, but with the right fitness regime, there’s a talented player waiting should a club choose to pick him up.
Green Gully: Ryan Kitto and Diogo Ferreira
With a season-ending knee injury to Matt Breeze in Round 1 and subsequent squad injuries since then, coach Arthur Papas has stated his intention to build more depth within his squad. Ryan Kitto is a dangerous winger in a similar mould to Breeze who provided goals and assists at Newcastle, so would be a good fit, while Ferreira’s versatility in midfield and defence makes him great for depth. Plus, he’s a former Gully junior, so there’s some romance in coming back home.
Heidelberg United, Bentleigh Greens, South Melbourne:
For Heidelberg, it’s moreso about getting their squad all fit and firing at once. Meanwhile at Bentleigh, one issue would be how to manage depth players who aren’t getting adequate game time. And as for South, well, there have always been calls for a back-up to Lujic, but why would an ex-A-League player want that role?
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What about Dan Heffernan?
The thing with Heff is, as a Visa player, most clubs have their foreign quota filled, so there’d have to be some creative list management going on mid-season at some clubs who want him. Or maybe there’s a suitable NPL2 home for him…
What about Archie Thompson?
We’ll let others speculate.