Image: Sonia Licciardi
Box Hill United have secured the services of Melbourne Victory’s Oliver Paterno for the 2017 NPL Victoria season while also tying down the quartet of Caleb Ludlow, Alex Schroen, Thomas Lakic and Keegan Coulter.
Paterno will be a new recruit to familiar territory after last featuring for the club in 2015.
The left-back signed at Melbourne Victory youth for the 2016 season but injury restricted his campaign to just eight appearances.
His addition will provide a natural left-footed option for Greg Kassidas which was lacking in 2016.
Meanwhile, Coulter took out Box Hill’s best and fairest in 2016 after a standout season personally despite the club’s mixed fortunes. It was the young custodian’s first season at Wembley Park after moving from Nunawading City.
The former Melbourne Victory keeper came with considerable pedigree having deputised for the senior side and earning a call-up to a Young Socceroos training camp in 2013 after initially breaking through at Bulleen Lions in 2012 at the age of 17 following Alastair Bray’s move to Bentleigh Greens.
Following his departure from Victory, Coulter missed the NPL transfer deadline and featured at SL1 side Clifton Hill before moving to NPL-bound Nunawading City in 2015, and then signing at Box Hill in 2016.
Teenager Lakic re-commits after a half-season which yielded 12 performances since dropping down a tier mid-year.
He moved from Oakleigh Cannons, where he had made 10 appearances in his second stint since making his senior debut in 2014 under the guidance of Miron Bleiberg.
Like Coulter, he is also a former Melbourne Victory youth player and also featured for South Melbourne in 2015, making a mid-season switch and featuring five times.
Schroen, brother of South Melbourne attacking midfielder Marcus, himself had a blistering start to the season which was eventually halted by injury.
He nonetheless finished as the club’s top scorer, scoring eight times from 20 appearances on the flank.
He is club’s longest serving current player and a mainstay of the NPL era.
Ludlow re-signs again at Box Hill for his third consecutive season in blue and white after joining from South Hobart in 2014.
The diminutive midfielder netted twice in 23 games as one of the club’s more consistent performers in 2017.
The only current confirmed departure is Kobbie Boahene, who makes the step up to Port Melbourne for 2017.
Box Hill will be up against it again for promotion next year with Stuart Munro’s Dandenong City already recruiting aggressively, while Dandenong Thunder have also tied down key players as they launch another campaign to return to the top tier.