Photo: Mark Avellino
Calder United have re-signed no less than 12 players ahead of their NPLW title defence in 2017, headlined by the retention of co-captains Rachel Binning and Rachel Alonso.
Joining the Rachel’s in committing their future to the club are blue-chip midfielders Enza Barilla and Cindy Lay, 2016’s breakout player Stacey Papadopoulos, speedster Aliesha Newman and the promising Brydie Siryj.
Mainstay players Gulcan Koca, Jess Pitts, Jess Au and Bethany Mason-Jones will also continue on at Calder next season, while the club has the return of American international defender Kasha Meyer to look forward to.
Binning enjoyed a breakout year at top-flight level after grafting out her early years at Casey Comets, where she first broke onto the scene as a 15-year-old in the southern suburbs of Victoria.
The now 19-year-old had a fine season at her new club, where she has matured into a future W-League prospect after featuring in every minute of Calder’s Championship winning campaign.
Alonso is another player to have found another level this season with the responsibility of captain, securing her highest ever goals return in a season after netting 17 times.
This eclipses her two tallies of nine (in both the 2012 and 2014 WPL season) and last year’s tally of 11, largely thanks to playing the role as central striker this campaign.
The 22-year-old Melbourne Victory forward has established herself as one of the best players in the top-flight since making her debut for Bundoora United under current coach Mark Torcaso in 2011.
Barilla is another who has worked closely with head coach Torcaso, and made the swap with him from Bundoora to Calder at the beginning of the 2016 season.
A veteran of the Victory W-League set-up with over 50 appearances to her name after being named in their inaugural 2008-09 season, Barilla was once again one of Calder’s key-figures as her 11 goals from midfield helped her side win the Premiership/Championship double.
The 25-year-old enjoys a spell off W-League duties this season and will look towards 2017’s NPLW campaign as her next taste of footballing action.
Koca and Pitts joined Barilla as members of last season’s Victory roster under the stewardship of Dave Edmondson, with the former a long-serving member of the squad, having featured from 2009 onwards.
The Turkish international recovered from a broken foot at the back end of last season to feature in the second half of the 2015 W-League season, and enjoyed a solid year juggling both a central defensive and central midfield position in the NPLW.
Former Mini-Matilda Jess Pitts had her breakout year in 2015 for Bundoora United, where she shone in the engine room after graduating from the NTC program.
Pitts also learned her trade at centre-half that season, a position she also featured for in Victory colours.
She made 23 appearances, netting the one goal for Calder this season.
Recently turned 22-year-old Cindy Lay appeared 21 times in the league for Calder – scoring seven times – having made the switch from Bulleen Lions at the start of the inaugural NPLW season.
The East Timor-born playmaker began in the EAP system – where she got her break at WPL level – before moving to the Veneto Club, where she spent two seasons off the back of Melbourne Victory selection in 2012 and 2013.
Lay re-joined the Victory as an injury-replacement in 2015 where she made a handful of appearances as the Victory slumped to a bottom-placed finish.
The exciting Stacey Papadopoulos re-signs with Calder after a breakout 2016 campaign which saw the former Heidelberg United and Box Hill winger reinvent herself as a fullback.
One of the standout players in the league this season, Papadopoulos showed plenty of the attacking traits that saw her pigeon-holed as a big prospect for the future, having broken out as a sprightly young teenager at Olympic Village in 2011.
She, alongside Brydie Siryj, both earned trials at W-League clubs this season, testament to the potential the pair possess.
Siryj made just 13 appearances in 2016 – the majority off the bench – but the youngster left a lasting impression, including supplying the assist for Barilla’s match-winning goal in the NPLW Grand Final against Galaxy United.
The talented athlete will be looking to make further inroads after a promising first season at an elite level.
Former Boroondara Eagles winger Aliesha Newman also signs on with the club, having appeared in every one of Calder’s games this season.
She was restricted to a role off the bench in the second half of the season, where she was able to impact games with her direct running against tired opposition legs, netting twice in the process.
The former Altona City and South Melbourne player will provide further depth in the attacking third heading into next season.
Bethany Mason-Jones extends her stay at Calder for another season after a solid season between the sticks in 2016.
She first linked up with current head coach Torcaso at Bundoora in the mid-season transfer window of 2014 – joining from South Melbourne after graduating from the NTC – before following the former goalkeeper and now mentor into the NPLW era.
Au enjoyed a breakout 2013 campaign for South Melbourne, which she further built on in 2014 with a nine-goal season that saw her earn selection for Melbourne Victory, although never appearing in her one season with the club.
She was handed a WPL debut by Bobby McGuinness in 2011 for the EAP before her move to South, then moving to Bundoora in 2015 where she battled through a lingering injury in her one season at the club.
Finally, American centre-half Kasha Meyer has committed to returning to Australia in 2017 after a brilliant half a season Down Under.
The imposing defender was one of Calder’s best players in the second half of the season, culminating in a fantastic Grand Final performance, which saw her net the equalising goal in the second half at ABD Stadium.
The retention of this core group of players is set to be further supplemented the announcement of some key new signings across the next couple of weeks.