Coach: Socrates Nicolaidis
2014 finish: 1st, Champions The story of South Melbourne Women’s 2014 season can essentially be categorised into three chapters.
There was the regular Sportsmart WPL season that South Melbourne dominated, finishing 11 points clear of second placed Bulleen Lions after only drawing two games and losing another two. Tiffany Eliadis blitzed the top scorers with 24 goals, eight ahead of next best Enza Barilla’s 16.
There was also the Cup run, which ended in Grand Final defeat final to Bulleen after some Frances Land heroics in between the posts.
Finally, there was the lead-up to the WPL finals series, underscored by the key departures of Eliadis, Amy Jackson and Jessica Au to the Melbourne Victory W-League team. Assistant and caretaker coach Matt Maslak guided South through a tough few weeks, surviving a penalty shootout against Bulleen in the Semi-Final after a 1-1 draw, before triumphing 1-0 over Heidelberg in the decider, courtesy of a Natalie Martineau goal.
[youtube id=”2N2uBd9IH2k” width=”620″ height=”360″]
New Signings: There’s been considerable turnover at Lakeside, with Laura Spiranovic, Amy Jackson, Tijen Hussein and Jess Au all packing their bags for new challenges.
New coach Socrates Nicolaidis has brought in Brittany Dudley-Smith from Casey, Carol Howes, a 31-year-old Zimbabwean national previously playing in Perth, Jade Feakes – who can play as a centre-back or defensive midfielder – from the NTC, and Saphri Lines, a 21-year-old forward from England.
Furthermore, with news that goalkeeper Cammileri has injured her knee and set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, South have rushed in Karlie Leclair, a junior goalkeeper from the University of Puget Sound, Washington.
Players to watch: How could you not mention Tiff Eliadis? After perhaps not being afforded the game time she deserved at Victory in the W-League, the attacking outlet will be out to prove a point again in the WPL.
Natalie Martineau is also in for a big season, albeit with a bit of a positional shift, with coach Nicolaidis hinting at – but not revealing – a new role in the starting XI for the Grand Final winning goalscorer.
Meanwhile, 16-year-old Rhea Schreuder could be in for a breakout season, with the fleet footed youngster already showing promise when given game time towards the end of last season, and impressing the new coach in pre-season.
What to expect in 2015: One may expect a reigning champion to have a serious outlook of defending its title, but the considerable player exodus seemed to have been an indication to Nicolaidis that something behind the scenes at the club wasn’t quite right, with the new manager telling the Corner Flag of his intention to overhaul and develop a new culture at South. Being deeply involved as a technical director and youth coach at the club, Nicolaidis has fully immersed himself in a overseeing a new era, starting from the juniors up.
2015 therefore may well be a transitional season that sees fluctuating results, but it’s part of a longer-term vision for sustained stability and success for the WPL powerhouse.