South Melbourne FC would like to announce the re-signing of 2017 Best and Fairest winner Natalie Martineau for the 2018 NPL Victoria season.
In her four seasons with the club, the Canadian-born midfielder has impressed everyone with her exceptional work ethic and creative play, as well as her leadership on the park.
Natalie was an integral part of SMWFC’s back-to-back WPL Championships in 2014-2015, the State League triumph in 2016 and of course the most recent Premiership and Championship in the NPL Women’s competition of 2017 where she stood out as one of the dominant midfield players in the entire competition.
Women’s Football Director Gabrielle Guiliano was pleased to have Natalie back at the club for the upcoming season. “Natalie showed great loyalty in being part of the Club over the past few seasons and was one of our stand out players for the 2017 season. Her tireless work rate and ability to keep driving her game to another level is something that she is well known for and we are excited to see her back in our colours for another season.”
We wish Natalie all the best for the 2018 NPL season.
South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the departure of two time Championship winning player and former club captain Michael Eagar.
Since crossing from Northcote City in 2014, Eagar immediately assumed the role as club captain and played an integral part in the club winning its first title in 9 seasons during that season. In his 112 senior appearances for the club, Eagar was also able to play a part in our second NPL triumph in three seasons in 2016, while also proudly lifting the Dockerty Cup and Premiers Plate in 2015.
A true professional and fantastic person to lead our proud club, we would like to thank Michael for his efforts as captain and wish him all the best for the next chapter in his career.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, an emotional Eagar spoke highly of his time at the club. “I would have preferred to personally say thanks to everyone at this great club who has made my time extremely enjoyable; however I would like to express my gratitude to all of the supporters, players, coaches, media team and directors at South Melbourne. In particular, CT for giving me the honour of captaining the club during my 4 years, the players such as Norts who have made the journey very special and Frankie for going above and beyond every day of the week. I’ve always worn the South colours with pride and I hope I’ve given the supporters as many great memories as they’ve given me.
Wishing the club and it’s supporters all the very best, I look forward to seeing South Melbourne back in their rightful spot of the country’s top division in the coming years where i will be supporting as a fan.”
He joins fellow Championship winning players Zaim Zeneli (North Sunshine) and Luke Adams (Overseas), as well as David Moreno (Spain) and Stefan Zinni (Avondale) as confirmed departures ahead of pre-season training on Monday.
South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the signing of 21 year old central defender Darby Dexter for the 2018 season.
Dexter joins us from fellow NPL club Port Melbourne, while he has previous experience also with Melbourne City’s Youth Team in both the National Youth League and NPL competition, as well as North Caulfield in the State League.
Dexter provides the squad with a tall and extremely strong central defensive option, who is also very composed with the ball at his feet.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, Football Director Nicholas Maikousis welcomed Darby to the club. “Darby is a tough young defender who we think can play a role in our first team squad for the 2018 season.”
We would like to welcome Darby to SMFC and wish him all the best for 2018.
South Melbourne FC would like to pass on its condolences to our dual championship winning coach Chris Taylor on the passing of his father Graham.
As a loving and supportive father, Graham was one of Chris’ major influences throughout football and life in general, having played for Chelsea, Burton Albion and Tamworth as an accomplished footballer in his own right.
Throughout the latter years, Graham would continue to support his son through all of his football adventures from the UK, including proudly watching the club’s matches through
SMFC TV.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC President Leo Athanasakis passed on his condolences to the Taylor family and friends. “Chris is a key part of the SMFC Family and the club is here to support him during this difficult time. Our thoughts are with the Taylor family both in Australia and the UK.”
In the latter years Graham suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, a terrible condition currently effecting over 353.000 Australians. With no cure, this equates to the second leading cause of death in Australia.
For more information or to donate please visit www.alzheimers.com.au.
South Melbourne is pleased to confirm that it has re-signed attacking midfielder Nick Epifano for the 2018 NPL Victoria season.
Epifano has had a tremendous season, winning the SMFC Best and Fairest (Theo Marmaras Medal) and Players’ Player of the season, whilst also being a key component in our club reaching the Semi Finals of each competition in 2017.
Since joining the club through the midway point of 2013, Epifano has played in 135 matches for the club, scoring on 39 occasions and also playing in two vital championship wins along the way.
He will once again link up with Milos Lujic and new signing Sam Smith in what promises to be a formidable attacking force in 2018.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was elated with the re-signing. “Over the past 12 months we have seen Epa grow as a footballer and person, so we are pleased to retain the services of such an integral member of our team. We’re hoping that he can build on his strong 2017 season and take his game to another level this year, where he will continue to both create and score for us in crucial matches.”
The club would like wish Nick all the best for the 2018 season.
South Melbourne FC is proud to have participated in the Women in Football Forum recently at AAMI Park.
Representatives of SMFC attended the two day forum and together with many of our players witnessed a fantastic win by the Matilda’s over China. The forum bought together over three hundred participants including clubs, sports administrators, government and other stakeholders.
Football Federation Australia together with Football Federation Victoria delivered a professional and collaborative experience discussing the current state and future opportunities to grow women’s football.
South Melbourne FC’s Director of Women’s Football Gabrielle Giuliano said “Our vision is to be at the forefront of women’s football through our actions, core beliefs and on-field performance. It is the football values and expertise we are able to share with the broader community that makes our program such a success. Our ongoing engagement with the FFA and FFV continues this journey and presents an opportunity for our club to further contribute to the advancement in women’s football.
South Melbourne FC is pleased to confirm that it has re-signed captain Brad Norton for a further two seasons.
Norton arrived at Lakeside Stadium ahead of the 2012 Victorian Premier League season, playing in 181 matches for the club across all competitions and scoring on 12 occasions. He has also lead the club proudly over the past 12 months as captain and vice captain for the previous four seasons prior, including captaining the side during the 2016 finals campaign.
As South’s longest serving current player, he has the opportunity to play his 200th game for the club in 2018, as well as being able to add to the two championship wins that he has had while wearing our famous shirt.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was pleased with the commitment Brad has shown towards the club. “Bradley is a tremendous person and role model at our club and we are extremely pleased to have a person of his quality both on and off the park at the club for another two seasons. His leadership and ability to galvanise the dressing room has proven to be an integral part of our success over the past four years and we cannot be more pleased to have him part of the squad and leading our club.”
We wish Brad all the best in 2018 and beyond, where we will hopefully see him lifting more silverware over the next two seasons.
South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that we have signed 2017 NPL Queensland Golden Boot winner Sam Smith for the next two seasons.
Smith joins the club from our FFA Cup Quarter Final Opponents Gold Coast City, having scored 22 goals in an impressive season with the Queensland outfit through dominating both league and Cup competitions. Smith was instrumental in the Gold Coast making the final 8 of the tournament, but missed out on playing against his new club due to an injury sustained in the PS4 NPL Queensland finals.
The Englishman brings another attacking option to play alongside Milos Lujic, as well as being able to play in any position across the attacking half of the pitch.
Prior to arriving in Australia, Smith played for numerous clubs throughout the UK, including Rushden and Diamonds, Woking and Lincoln City.
Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was pleased with the acquisition. “Sam joins the club after a tremendous year in Queensland and will be a very welcome addition to the club in 2018. His strength, work rate and ability is something we were very impressed with and we are hopeful he continues to perform at that high standard along side Milos Lujic in the upcoming season.”
SMFC welcomes Sam to the club and wishes him the very best for the 2018 season and beyond.
South Melbourne FC is pleased to confirm its coaches ahead of the 2018 NPL Women’s season.
As expected, three-time championship winning coach Socrates Nicolaidis will be the head coach of our senior team. He will be joined by Mick Gallo, who joins the club as our female Technical Director following a similar role at Avondale FC this season.
2017 SMFC Senior Assistant Jorge Leon will take over the Under 19 category and assist in nurturing our girls at that level prior to stepping into senior football.
Our Under 16 side will be coached by Angelo Koutos, who will also combine those duties with being Assistant Coach to Socrates Nicoliaidis. The former Heidelberg and Collingwood player has a wealth of experience at all levels, including experience with Alamein as their Technical Director.
Both Mark Knauer and John Sugunananthan will continue in their roles with the club, with Mark taking over our Under 14s squad and John the newly formulated Under 12s.
Director of Women’s Football, Gabrielle Giuliano was pleased with the structure implemented. “It’s a very exciting time for women’s football and in particular our club and we are excited to announce our coaching structure for our second season in the NPL. As always, we will be giving our coaches all of the necessary support in what we see as another huge season for all of our girls.”
SMFC wishes all of our female NPL coaches all the best for the 2018 season.
South Melbourne FC is proud to progress its partnership with Firbank Grammar School through an Information Session at the club at 5:30pm on Thursday 16 November.
Representatives of SMFC and Firbank will be on hand to deliver a presentation for footballers, students and parents to learn more about the school’s Learning Journey and Scholarship opportunities.
Firbank footballers are familiar with South Melbourne FC with students having played for the club for a number of years, including in the 2016 Championship winning Senior squad and in the National Premier League teams in 2017.
Similar to SMFC, Firbank football is no stranger to success both on and off the pitch. This year their Senior GSV team featuring South Melbourne players had a dominant season performance to secure the Girls Sports Victoria Championship. The girls went through the season undefeated and without conceding a goal. They finished at the top of the table in their zone, defeated MLC 0-5 in the Semi Final and then secured the title with a 1-0 victory over Sacre Couer.
Speaking to SMFC, Director of Admissions Dr Jenny Peters said “We see the direction of the football club, their board and their operations team as being at the cutting edge of 21st century learning. Both Firbank and South Melbourne Football Club are members of the local community who future focused skills and capabilities to our children.”
Firbank Principal Jenny Williams with the Victorian Minister for Sport, Hon John Eren MP and SMFC President Leo Athanasakis
“We share the same values in advancing education of girls and boys. Most importantly we provide children with a choice of pathways, those who want to challenge their limits and compete at an elite level, to those who want to participate, exercise and share the sporting experience with their friends. Firbank Grammar is proud to offer Scholarships to the sons and daughters of the families of the South Melbourne Football Club” she said.
South Melbourne FC’s Director of Women’s Football Gabrielle Giuliano said “Our vision is is to be at the the forefront of women’s football through our actions, core beliefs and onfield performance. It is the football values and expertise we are able to share with the broader community that makes our program such a success. Our partnership with Firbank Grammar School is the next evolution in this journey and presents an opportunity for our club to further contribute to the advancement in football with a quality and highly regarded educational institution.”
The following two events enable footballers, students and parents to understand more about South Melbourne FC, Firbank Grammar School and the learning opportunities available through the school from their Early Leaning Centres through to Year 12.
Firbank School Open Morning
Sandringham Co-educational Campus, 45 Royal Avenue, Sandringham. 9.00 a.m. – Wednesday, 15 November
