Photo: Rachel Bach
“This club seems very ambitious and have got the right drive to become a powerhouse I think personally,” said a freshly appointed Calder United coach Mark Torcaso late 2015.
“The people I’ve spoken to at the club seem very committed and motivated to try and get the club back to what it once was – as it was a powerhouse eight or nine years ago – and return them to that stature.”
Just over 10 months have passed since his appointment at the helm of the newly formed NPLW club, and while his statement at the time was bold, it’s one that now looks eerily prophetic.
A 4-1 win over Bulleen Lions on the weekend saw Calder secure the inaugural NPLW Minor Premiership, a title that Torcaso admits he holds in higher esteem than the NPLW Championship.
Winning 4-1 against @FCBulleenLions today, @cusc2016 sealed the inaugural @PlayStationAU #PS4NPLWVIC premiership! pic.twitter.com/cuVi3jLwKa
— NPLW Victoria (@nplwvictoria) August 6, 2016
“Australia is known for finals, but I sent an email to all the players after this week’s game to explain to them how important a Minor Premiership is for the group,” Torcaso said.
“It shows how consistent they’ve been throughout the year and how powerful they’ve been over a number of games.
“That’s a fantastic achievement and that’s something that they should be proud of. Now we need to re-adjust to play one-off games that are important on the day.
“A Minor Premiership shows how consistent you’ve been throughout the season but if you can win the Finals, that’s fantastic as well. I put a strong emphasis on the Premiership because the whole group has been consistent over the year, instead of 16 players on one given day.
“The 22 people we’ve had through the season have had a contribution to us winning the Minor Premiership; that’s more important to me.”
Torcaso continues with that theme by telling of the impact the Calder coaches and hierarchy had on developing a strong team culture within the close-knit club.
“From seeing the club grow over the year, it’s been an amazing start to the NPLW,” he said.
“The club have put in every bit of effort to make it work for the players and for us the staff. It’s a reflection on them and how much effort they’ve put in to make it happen.
“It’s a comfortable environment to come into and always when we need something, we get what we need so it’s a massive support from the club.
“I’ve also been fortunate to work with Ian Williamson who has been amazing. He’s been able to guide and mentor me and help me through the things I needed assistant with my coaching to get us over the line.
“It paid off having him involved. From his perspective, he wanted to change the way he coached and the things that he did and he’s improved himself as well.
“He wanted to take a different view and really focus on the coaching aspect and the delivery of his training sessions. I know that’s something that he’s worked on and from my perspective, there’s things that I wanted to work on in the way I delivered my message.
“Ian was a big part in helping and assisting that. You put both of us together and the girls could rely on two people to make them better.”
While seen as one of a handful of potential front runners in the NPLW’s inaugural season, that was always going to be met with some level of skepticism, given the more established names like Heidelberg United, Box Hill United and Bulleen Lions continuing on in the Victorian top-flight.
As it proved, it was the latter that pushed Torcaso’s side the furthest this season despite their share of adversity, with the Lions falling to a 4-1 defeat to Calder on the weekend to decide the title-race.
“Bulleen is a fantastic side and Ricardo [Martinez] has led them well all year,” the head coach told.
“They’ve been dealt a few cards with injuries and people going away, so while it was nice to beat the second team to claim the championship, they’re still a very dangerous side and I think they’ve got a lot of quality around heading into finals.
“We played them at a very good time because they had lost some players. That’s probably what secured us the three points and then ultimately the Championship which was fantastic.”
A home final awaits Calder in two weeks time where they’ll play one of Alamein FC or Bulleen Lions for a spot in the NPLW Grand Final.
Torcaso – this being his first ever title as a manager – is still urging his side to go one step further and win the Championship, however the main focus is that his players use the extra games to further improve ahead of the W-League season, with nine players currently trialling across the two Melbourne-based clubs.
“It is a big deal because in the end, we live in a country where Grand Finals are important, so the emphasis will be on refocusing on finals.
“No doubt we’ll be going for that, the benefit is that unlike every other team, we get to play another couple of games. That’s a benefit to the girls who get the chance to show the way that they can play.
“If we win the Grand Final or the Semi Final on the way, that’s great, but the bonus is you get the extra games for these girls to show themselves on the big stage and establish themselves a bit more.”