Image: Mark Witte
Daniel Heffernan, the former Central Coast Mariners and Heidelberg United striker, has reignited more than just a promising career after recently moving to the Goulburn Valley Suns of the Victorian National Premier League.
Victorian football had no idea the talent they had grasped when Heffernan signed for Shepparton Soccer Club in the Goulburn local division in 2012. He would go on to become one of the most prolific scorers in the state’s history.
The importance of such a coup for Goulburn can’t be overstated. Following their relegation in 2014, many may have expected the regional club to fade into obscurity.
Yet Goulburn have a knack of drawing big talents, having recently been home to the influential former Socceroo and Manchester City midfielder Simon Colosimo, while Craig Carley had become synonymous with the club.
However, in Heffernan, Goulburn may have just snatched the signing of the season. The man affectionately nicknamed ‘Heffortless’ has already become the Suns’ equal highest goal-scorer after just 10 appearances.
Due to their geographical isolation and lack of the facilities, funding and dedicated fan-bases metropolitan clubs often enjoy, regional clubs have to rely entirely on their own wits and player loyalties, with talent spotting and thinking outside the box crucial to survival.
Goulburn head coach Nick Kalafatis has seen first-hand the difficulties faced by a regional football club – highlighted by losing Craig Carley mid-season and pitch issues in the middle of winter – yet believes his team’s quality and belief is second to none.
“We’re not in the position we’d like to be, that we aimed for at the start of the year. Obviously the last two months not having a proper pitch to train on, going left and right doesn’t help,” he said.
“I guess that’s in amateur football, that’s where we’re at right now.
Given these substantial adversities any triumph for a regional football club over their inner city rivals should be celebrated by those who hold the country close to their hearts.
Midweek, Heffernan’s brace gunned Goulburn to an important victory over one of the city of Melbourne’s oldest and most successful sides, promotion candidates Moreland Zebras.
Thus, the importance of Daniel Heffernan. The English striker can boast a career spanning 13 clubs across two continents, yet the modesty that’s returned him to his Australian roots is clear.
“I feel like I’m travelling well. It’s always nice to score. I’ve enjoyed being back in Shepparton, obviously.
“The timing was right with my release from the Mariners and I’ve come back, I’m enjoying myself and I feel good.”
Encapsulating the grit and determination country Victoria is renowned for, he famously made the jump from non-league football in Britain all the way to his first professional contract in the A-League over the course of just three years.
The 6’2 forward, renowned for his aerial prowess and deadly finishing ability, first came to Australia with Shepparton Soccer Club in 2012 and dominated for the Goulburn league side, netting a groundbreaking 24 times in just 17 appearances.
This led to his career-making move to Heidelberg United, where the Manchester born goal scorer would prove his quality with 50 goals in 66 appearances. Two years later he would make headlines with a move to Central Coast.
Given such recent success, Heffernan’s dedication to rural football and the area that revitalised his career is clearly something to be celebrated and kept in awe of.
When asked to look ahead to the future, such varied experience has taught Heffernan to never say never, yet for someone who’s played at a professional level, he seems genuinely content with where his career has taken him;
“Yeah,” he says uncertainly when asked about another professional contract. “Hopefully. We’ll see what happens.”
For his part, Kalafatis is certainly aware of the importance of holding on to such a player. “Daniel’s been outstanding. We’ve got the team spirit. But honestly, the quality of all our players is obvious to anyone on the park.”
Despite the club punching above its weight in drawing in some of Victoria’s best, in 2014, including Goulburn, there were three rural clubs in the Victorian first division. All three have subsequently been relegated.
The Suns, situated 2½ hours out of Melbourne, are now one of relatively few regional clubs represented in the top three divisions of Victorian football.
Still, Kalafatis is optimistic when it comes to the future of his club and football in the region in general. “I’m over the moon with all the young boys. 10 of our starting line-up are all local boys,” he said.
“Boys coming in from Melbourne is very hard, not saying anything bad about our boys, but getting players in from Melbourne is very hard…you don’t always get the quality you pay for.”
Yet for a club that relies so wholeheartedly on producing youth in order to stay competitive, keeping hold of those young players for a semi-professional club has unique challenges of it’s own.
“We have to look at travelling. Six or seven of the boys we’ve been developing have to go to university next year in Melbourne. Next year we’re going to have to train in Melbourne, to help this travelling.”
“Our captain, (Cody Sellwood) is a Shepparton boy. He goes to uni in Melbourne and he gets injured a lot, because of the travelling. We really want to do the best we can for the boys, going to Uni, but to keep them at the club.”
For Kalafatis, the loyalty shown by Heffernan is the perfect example for Shepparton’s footballing youth. In order to sustain Goulburn at the highest level possible, to continue providing opportunities for these players, determination is crucial.
It may be harder for country youth to balance football and education then those from Melbourne, but as Kalafatis knows from experience, nothing good comes easily.
“There’s a lot of quality out here. But there are no excuses. The youth of our days (still) have everything easier. They have to learn if you want to chase dreams you have to chase with everything.”
If the youth at Goulburn Valley Suns need to look further than the essential role they have in sustaining local football in their hometown for inspiration, they need only to look to their own Daniel Heffernan, and the opportunities rural football provided him.
If a 29-year-old former Sunday league footballer can travel across the world and make it to the highest level over the course of three seasons, there’s surely no barriers they can’t overcome.