From Dan De Nardi at Football NSW
The fourth chapter of the hummel F-League has stretched its reach yet again with entrants to both the men’s and women’s comp spanning Australia’s east coast, bringing together the country’s best players and exciting young talent in a cauldron of spellbinding Futsal.
The enticement of a 2014 AFC club championship berth for the F-League winner is lure enough – but nothing compares to the title of being crowned Australia’s best indoor football club.
The eight-team men’s and six-team women’s round-robin features just about every national player, plus former internationals, dozens of state representatives and some of our sizzling best juniors … and they’re being organised, managed and led by some of the game’s greats.
Kickoff’s scheduled for this Friday night, May 23, at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre, so it’s good luck to all clubs, players and officials as they take Australian Futsal to an even higher plane.
Men’s
A barnstorming Vic Vipers finish landed them the 2013 premiership-championship double, taking the trophies outside NSW borders for the first time after losing just one of their last 13 games to pip Dural at the post, then undoing the defending champions 4-0 in the grand final.
This year’s reshaped men’s line-up features three NSW sides (Dural Warriors, East Coast Heat, Sydney Scorpions), two Victorians (St Albans Strikers, Vic Vipers), two from the ACT (Boomerangs, Capital FC) and a northern marauder (South Brisbane), in what promises to be the best and closet edition yet!
Things sound sweet at Vipers with five of F-League’s top-10 all-time scorers Jonathan Barrientos, Adam Cooper, Fernando De Moraes, Thiago Priori and Miguel Barrigos in their deep ranks alongside some exciting overseas signings and plenty of strong pick-ups from a dispersed Melbourne Heart (Konrad Machoy and Matthew Vragovski) and the rich Victorian youth system.
Dural will show wounds from last season’s shock 4-0 title loss to Vipers on home turf and have kept the bulk of their squad for this season’s offensive, with three of the F-League’s leading scorers in Jarrod Basger, Greg Giovenali and Nathan Niski (106 strikes between them – almost 10 per cent of all F-League goals scored) linked with the likes of Toby Seeto, Daine Merrin and custodian Alastair Bruce.
An energetic young Scorpions will be out to improve on last year’s debut top-three finish, fronted by NSW Premier League MVP Daniel Fogarty and Golden Boot Shervin Adeli, club leading scorer Robert Foti and former Futsalroo Ediz Alpkaya, with goalkeeper of the year Roberto Maiorana between the sticks making them a real force.
Boomerangs will again prove hard to beat, especially with shotblocker Angelo Konstantinou protecting the onion bag and premier league weapon Michael Reeve rolling the ball, but they’ve had to share the territory’s talent this winter with upstart Capital FC… sure to be a spicy affair when they meet late-season.
St Albans strengthened their goalkeeping line-up with New Zealand representative Clayton Chapell joining Strikers veteran glovesman Damir Sacin, while up front Felipe De Olivera and Marcos Barbosa bring the skills and wisdom from their Brazilian playing days to complement ex-Inner City star Brenno Pollatti De Almeida. Defenders Resit Culculoglu and Nejdet Sahin signed from Heart.
East Coast disappointed in 2013 but look bigger and bolder this time round with Futsal stalwarts Chris Zeballos and Raymond Miller joining rising stars Sam Perre and Jamie Dib under the guile of wily wizards Simon Keith and Jamie Amendolia.
South Brisbane is new to the national men’s scene and the young squad has been training hard leading into first game – and with a plethora of northern talent to pick from and captained by journeyman Scott Fenn no team will be able to tackle them lightly.
It’s déjà vu as 2014 season kicks off with a Friday night affair (May 23) between Sydney Scorpions and East Coast Heat at All Sorts Indoor Sports Centre (7.30pm) – the same opener as last year, and the action continues the next morning (May 24) south of the border when St Albans Strikers tackle Boomerangs at YMCA Derrimut. South Brisbane battle Dural Warriors at Queensland’s Eagle Sports Complex, with three more games in Melbourne – Vic Vipers versus Boomerangs, St Albans Strikers against Capital FC while Vic Vipers meet Capital FC on Sunday (May 25).
Boomerangs: Callum Smith, Robbie Cattanach, Ben Basser-Silk, Thomas Zeitlhofer, Jason O’Dwyer, Trent Flannigan, Jonathan Ciminelli, Michael Reeve, Daniel Bennett, Jake Wilsener, Glenn Smith, Angelo Konstantinou (gk), Keiran Stroh (gk), Nick Van Aalst (gk), player/coach Kristian Collins
Capital FC: Aidan Brown, Joshua Calabria, Jason Farrell, Daniel Giovinazzo, Cameron Gordon, Richard Moon, Sean O’Neill, Ryan Quarmby, Michael Rinaudo, Slavissa Stojilovic, Bradley Sawyer, Nathan Swientek, Raymond Moon (gk), Gianmarco Senatore (gk), Zachary Sorenson (gk), coach Eddie Senatore
Dural Warriors: Tobias Seeto, Daine Merrin, Greg Giovenali, Blake Rosier, Nathan Niski, Bruno Pivato, Jarrod Basger, Chris Polkinghorne, Wade Giovenali, Zach Caruana, Glen Kelshaw, Brendan Hoyer, Kaans Kilincs, Jacob Basden, Nathan Philips, Marco Turpeinen, Corey Finch, Adam Bradley, Alastair Bruce (gk), Nick Starr (gk), James Brunacci (gk), coach Rob Varela
East Coast Heat: Chris Zeballos, Mitomo Somehara, Sam Perre, Clayton Musumeci, Raymond Miller, Lev Lewis, Johnathan Kontalis, Jordan Guerreiro, Miles Downie, Jamie Dib, Harley Da Silva, Tuan Cao, Corey Biczo, Diego Bellardo, Bruno Bellardo, Jonathan Barzel, Peter Spathis (gk), Mark Brackenrig (gk), coach Simon Keith
South Brisbane: Scott Fenn ©, Pascal Budini-Glass, Andre Gimenez, Renagi Ingram, Nikita Kvasov, Peter Panaretos, Rhys Pope, Daniello Romano, Adam Stacey, Tom Sutton, Caleb Urlich, Ali Malih (gk), Ben Wasley (gk), James Weidmann (gk), coach Felipe Amorim
St Albans Strikers: Jose Portillo ©, Resit Culculoglu, Felipe Tadashi, Brenno Pollatti De Almeida, Dino Redzepovic, Clint Mogoai, Nejdet Sahin, Noel Soma, Gavin Schipp, Mahamad Matar, Jonathan Tabarkiewicz, Marcos Barbosa Jr, Ian Twist, Vadim Mazurskiy, Mark Borchert, Ricardo Castro, Aguek Malek, Juso Julardzija, Felipe De Olivera (gk), Clayton Chapell (gk), Damir Salcin (gk), Cem Bicer (gk), Liam Digby (gk), coach Robert Lakovski
Sydney Scorpions: Stephen Spirou, Dylan Maloney, Michael Cimino, Daniel Fogarty, Mark Symington, Ian McAndrew, Andres Gomez, Marino Musemeci, Ediz Alpkaya, Shevin Adeli, Shayne Ardle, Daniel Vellonio, Daniel Fornito, Dean Lockhart, Matthew Hall, Brian Briffin Coles, Danny Martinez, Shaun Irwin, Robert Foti, Dominic Cox, Roberto Maiorana (gk), coach Ernie Bivona
Vic Vipers: John Barrientos ©, Vinitius Leite, Adam Cooper, Miguel Barrigos, Colby Waterfield, Kui Sen Mu, Vitor Brauner, Fernando De Moraes, Jason Barrientos, Maxim Avram, Jonathan Barrientos, Thiago Priori, Matthew Vragovski, Konrad Machoy, Tiago Fracasso, Diego Garcia, Gabriela Lucena, Kevin Barrientos, Ryan Timmins, Joshua Pulvirenti, Ben Monteleone, Joe Monteleone, Angelo Fusca, Christos Apostolakis (gk), Kieran Pates (gk), coach Milton Sakkos
Women’s
Last year’s inaugural women’s F-League was an absolute cracker as Sydney Scorpions came from fourth place on the ladder (behind runaway premiers Parramatta Blues) to win the maiden championship.
This year a condensed six-team tournament features two clubs from NSW (Dural Warriors, Sydney Scorpions), the ACT (Boomerangs, Capital FC), and one each from Victoria (Vic Vipers) and Queensland (South Brisbane) to form a terrific national competition.
Title-holders Scorpions lost key players Doris Osman (to Boomerangs) and Ceyda Cambaz (Dural) but new coach James Gilligan (from NSW Premier League women’s champions Campbelltown Quake) has covered the gaps with Matilda Servet Uzunlar and Renee Tomkins, Caitlin ‘Pommie’ Jarvie and Jodie Bain coming in from defunct F-League premiers Parramatta.
2013 grand finalist Boomerangs has been forced to share ACT’s rich Futsal talent with newcomers Capital FC this season, which also dishes up a delicious mid-season grudge match, while Vic Vipers now have Australia’s southern reaches at their beck and call, and a year-wiser South Brisbane saw coach Justin Morrison keep the core of last year’s promising squad.
Dural are transfixed on emulating their men’s side success and will look to make the finals this season on the back of some strategic recruitment, coach Futsalroo Tobias Seeto indicating his squad was nicely balanced “with a good mixture of youth and experience. We are focusing on one game at a time and everyone is looking forward to the first round,” he said.
The Warriors move north for an opening clash against South Brisbane at Eagle Sports Complex on Saturday (May 24), matches continuing in the southern realms at YMCA Derrimut as Vic Vipers take on ACT-entrants Boomerangs and Capital FC.
Boomerangs: Michelle Aurousseau ©, Nikola Orgill, Clare Munro, Rebecca Collins, Becky Watts, Becky Roche, Doris Osman, Michaela Day, Nicole Somi, Nadia Nisbet, Hayley Buckingham, Maddy Whittall, Ruth Kravis, Tatijana Curic (gk), Chloe Avgoustou (gk), Sophie Rolfe (gk), coach Kristian Collins
Capital FC: Najwa Allen, Erin Clout, Natalie De Marco, Nicole Jalocha, Lauren Keir, Jinneecka Klenka, Sian Minary-Bland, Lauren Raftery, Phoebe Worth, Tahlia Davidson (gk), Jessica Giovinazzo (gk), coach Eddie Senatore
Dural Warriors: Demelza Howard ©, Sarah Easthope, Kahlee Doyle, Rachel Perrins, Emma Clarke, Tara Pender, Ceyda Cambaz, Dominique Caridad, Natalie Spirovski, Dimitie Whiteman, Bianca Dobson, Grace Ha, Ariella Cabezas, Bethany Gordon, Karly Vouros, Erin Hill, Eleanor Rugg, Jessica Elliot, Kim Doohan (gk), coach Tobias Seeto
South Brisbane: Charlotte Boyes, Georgie Bridges, Ashleigh Bucknall, Larissa Crummer, Caroline Drummond, Nichole Laws, Sarah Amorim, Gabe Marzano, Jessica McLean, Brooke Skelly, Natalie Tathem, Emma Pittman, Shannon Tathem, Noran Abaza (gk), Bianca Walsh (gk), Tegan McKee (gk), coach Justin Morrison
Sydney Scorpions: Dana Buttegieg, Lauren Ralston, Claire Walsh, Jodie Bain, Renee Tonkins, Zoeie Redman, Caitlyn Jarvie, Jo Anne Saliba, Filiz Urkanci, Rhianna Pollicina, Sarah Yatim, Laura Donnelly, Naomi Nguyen, Stephanie Haim, Logan Garard, Elisha Williams, Sarah Roger, Servet Uzunlar, Mel McCauley (gk), Tani Rosekelly (gk), coach James Gilligan
Vic Vipers: Hannah Ryan, Meri Mitkovski, Tyla Vlajnic, Kristin Stensholt, Letizia Sammut, Kat Smith, Daniela Gudelj, Sienna Fogarty, Stephanie Tanti, Elaina Vatcky, Azize Erenli, Jessica Byrne, Ilona Jakab, Alkmini Stefanidis, Elizabeth Sarcevic (gk), Bethany Mason-Jones (gk), Molly Boorman (gk), coach Garry Liakoureas
-By Dan De Nardi, Official hummel F-League Journalist
from Football NSW