Day: February 12, 2015

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise that the Club will have a stall at the 2015 Lonsdale Street festival this coming Saturday 14 February. We will be there from 4pm, following our family day commitments in the morning!

The Lonsdale Street Festival (formerly Antipodes) attracts thousands of people each year and is a free street party in Melbourne’s Greek Precinct.

South Melbourne FC will have a stall set up selling special passes to this week’s opening round match against Oakleigh Cannons FC, as well as memberships and merchandise.

Come past and say hello, we look forward to seeing you there!

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signing of goalkeeper Nikola Roganovic ahead of the PlayStation 4 National Premier League season kicking off in a week’s time.

Roganovic returns to football in 2015 after having a two-year break from the game to establish his own business. Prior to his break, he represented Springvale White Eagles, Altona Magic and Green Gully in the Victorian Premier League. He was in between the sticks when Altona won the 2009 VPL Grand Final before switching to Green Gully and playing in their back-to-back Championships in 2010 and 2011. Roganovic then represented Melbourne Heart briefly before taking a break from the game.

He returns to South Melbourne FC eleven years after winning the National Youth League title with the Club in 2004. He will be competing with Peter Gavalas for a starting berth in between the sticks in 2015.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, South Melbourne FC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was excited about Roganovic’s signing. “Nikola has been training with us for quite a while now. I am pleased that we have managed to sort out the goalkeeping situation, with Peter Gavalas and Nikola now both competing for a starting berth next Thursday night against Oakleigh.”

South Melbourne FC welcomes Nikola Roganovic to the Club and wishes him the best for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC wishes to confirm the departures of NPL Victoria Championship winning players Jason Saldaris, Andrew Mullett and Kobbie Boahene.

Saldaris represented South Melbourne over two stints (2012 and 2014) and played in 26 matches across all competitions. He was in between the sticks when South won their opening eleven League matches in 2014 and he kept eleven clean sheets throughout the course of the NPL Victoria season.

Andrew Mullett made 12 appearances for the Club across all competitions in 2014. He made several appearances earlier on in the season when South Melbourne embarked on a fourteen match winning streak across all competitions.

Kobbie Boahene made 13 appearances for the Club across all competitions in 2014. He played in all four Dockerty Cup ties and scored two goals during those matches. He will best be remembered for scoring the winning goal in the third minute of extra time in the Dockerty Cup tie against Dandenong Thunder at George Andrews Reserve on Wednesday 28 May.

South Melbourne FC wishes all three players the best for the future and thanks them for playing their role in winning the 2014 NPL Victoria Championship.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signing of Cody Martindale ahead of the start of the PlayStation 4 NPL Victoria season next week.

Martindale played for Noble Park in State League 1 during the 2014 season. He developed a reputation for being a hard-working midfielder as Noble Park finished the season in fourth place on the League table.

Over the summer, Martindale has been trialling with South Melbourne FC and has impressed Chris Taylor over a series of friendly matches. He travelled with the squad to Adelaide last weekend and took part in both games against West Adelaide Hellas and Adelaide Blue Eagles.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, South Melbourne FC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said that “Cody is another young and promising player that we have signed after he impressed during the pre-season. Along with Andy Kecojevic, Cody is a player for the future.”

South Melbourne FC welcomes Cody Martindale to the Club and wishes him the best for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC is delighted to welcome former goalkeeper Peter Gavalas back to the Club as the 2013 VPL Goalkeeper of the Year has signed ahead of the 2015 National Premier League Victoria season.

Gavalas initially arrived at Lakeside Stadium at the beginning of the 2012 Victorian Premier League season. He kept a clean sheet in his debut match against the Moreland Zebras in a 4-0 victory at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday 25 March 2012. In total, he has represented the Club in 47 matches across all competitions (including 44 League matches) and kept ten clean sheets.

Gavalas’ individual efforts in 2013 were recognised when he was announced as the VPL Goalkeeper of the Year, joining Dean Anastasiadis (2005, 2006) and Peter Zois (2010) as the only South Melbourne goalkeepers to have won that award.

Following the conclusion of the 2013 VPL season, he decided to retire to concentrate on his new career as a physiotherapist. At the time of his retirement, he said that “there’s a strong culture and unit forming within the inner sanctum at South and no doubt the boys will achieve a high level of success in 2014.” He was ultimately proven right as South won the inaugural NPL Victoria Championship last year.

After taking a break in 2014, Gavalas has decided to balance his professional career with his football career. He returns to South Melbourne FC in 2015 as the Club seeks its first back-to-back Championships since 1998 and 1999. Speaking to smfc.com.au, Gavalas said “to be honest, having played the game for a large portion of my life, I really did just miss playing football and playing for the Club. The second half of the 2013 season under Chris Taylor was enjoyable… he did bring out the best out of me as a keeper and person during that short time. I hope that being under his wing again in 2015 will enable me to play well for myself and for the Club.”

Also speaking with smfc.com.au, South Melbourne FC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was happy to see the former goalkeeper return to Lakeside Stadium. ” I am very pleased that Peter is returning to help us try and retain our NPL Victoria crown. After working with him and CT extensively during the second part of 2013, we saw Peter become the best goalkeeper in the competition. Let’s hope we can see him re-capture that form in 2015.”

South Melbourne FC welcomes Peter Gavalas back to the Club and wishes him the best for the 2015 season.

South Melbourne FC is excited to launch its SMFC Corporate Membership for the new 2015 National Premier League Victoria season.

The benefits offered as part of the Membership include the following:

• 2015 SMFC Membership card
• Exclusive access to the President’s Room in the Corporate Suite
• Business to business networking opportunities
• Finger food and refreshments (beer, wine and soft drink only)
• One Voting right (for both SMH Club Ltd and SMFC Ltd)
• Business Listing on the official Club website
• Invitation to SMFC in Business networking events

Total Investment – $330 including GST

To purchase your 2015 Corporate Membership, please contact the club office on 9645 9797 or multimedia@smfc.com.au.