Bulleen captures Cartanos as NPL2 West trio strengthen

by Damir Kulas 0

A flurry of transfer activity in the past few days is headlined by the Bulleen Lions securing the services of attacking midfielder Andrew Cartanos from Heidelberg, while a trio of NPL2 West clubs added new names to their playing roster.

21-year-old Cartanos leaves Heidelberg after two and a half seasons at the club, where he was primarily used as a super-sub, making 51 league appearances in total, scoring five goals.

The former Melbourne Heart Youth midfielder made his senior debut in 2012 with South Melbourne, going on to make 11 appearances at the club before his switch to the Bergers in 2014.

He comes in as fullback Dylan Bresolin becomes another player to depart the club, signing for Clifton Hill in SL1.

In NPL2, the Moreland Zebras have signed veteran Jonathan Munoz from Altona Magic, boosting their midfield stocks which has been depleted of late with Nejc Kolman suffering a broken leg.

Born in Chile, Munoz won a Championship with the Preston Lions in 2007 before enjoying season-long spells at the Oakleigh Cannons and Hume City respectively.

A move to Green Gully in 2010 saw him claim back-to-back Championships with the Keilor-East based club before making a return to the lower leagues of Germany, having previously spent time plying his trade in the country’s east with Optik Rathenow between 2004 and 2006.

A return to Melbourne in 2013 followed with the versatile Munoz featuring for South Melbourne, Northcote City and Avondale in recent seasons.

Across town, Moreland City have welcomed the addition of Andrew Doig, with the experienced Scot moving to Campbell Reserve from State League 2 outfit Doncaster Rovers.

The 29-year-old was a youth player with Hearts, he was on the books of Livingston where he played professionally until the club’s administration saw them drop out of the Scottish Premier League.

A move to Australia in 2010 saw him feature for Shepparton South in 2010 before spells at Hume City, Sunshine George Cross and Brunswick City.

He then made the move to Kingston City in 2013 and was a regular under Nick Tolios, going on to captain the club in the NPL era.

Doig had joined Richmond ahead of this season but left before the campaign kicked-off, joining former Kingston teammate Gino Defeo at the Rovers.

Further up north, the Whittlesea Ranges have secured the services of defensive midfielder Nick Tzoulis from Northcote City and forward Tedros Yabio from St Albans Saints.

26-year-old Tzoulis has spent the majority of his career at John Cain Memorial Reserve after being a vital member of the Northcote outfit which won the 2011 Mirabella Cup and 2013 Championship with a short spell at local rivals Heidelberg United sandwiched in between.

A move to Port Melbourne in 2014 followed, before spending the latter half of last season with Brunswick City, upon returning to Hercules in February.

23-year-old Yabio moves to Epping Stadium having departed Churchill Reserve mid-week after 49 league games for Dinamo since joining the club in mid-2014, scoring 12 goals.

A VIS Graduate who featured for Melbourne Victory Youth as well as representing the Joeys, the Ethiopian-born attacker has also spent time with Western Suburbs and Altona Magic.

Tzoulis is expected to fill the hole left by central midfielder Stefan Baricevic, who is a long-term injury causality with the Ranges also parting ways with defender Andrew Taylor and midfielder Liam Newman over the past week.

The arrival of the duo is expected to boost Whittlesea’s promotion charge as is the signing of Munoz for the Zebras, while Doig joins a Moreland City side rooted in mid-table on the NPL2 standings.

Image: Matt Johnson