By George Kouroumalis
A record breaking 2014 season has concluded with South Melbourne once again dominating Victorian Football by taking out all of the major honours at the FFV Gold Medal Night at the Grand Hyatt last Friday evening.
After winning the inaugural PS4 NPL Victoria Championship by 7 points from second placed Oakleigh Cannons, South Melbourne players were widely tipped to poll well in the annual FFV Gold Medal Award.
The night started with coach Chris Taylor being awarded the 2014 PS4 NPL Victoria Coach of the Year. This was Taylor’s third Coach of the Year award, having won the award previously on two occasions in 2008 (Melbourne Knights) and 2012 (Dandenong Thunder).
As expected Milos Lujic accepted his award as the 2014 PS4 NPL Victoria Golden Boot winner after scoring a phenomenal 22 goals in 26 league games. He also managed to equal the club record previously set by Jim Armstrong (22 league goals in 1974) and Doug Brown (22 league goals in 1984) in any one league season.
In a remarkable night for the star striker, Lujic was then awarded with the 2014 PS4 NPL Victoria Players’ Player Award. This award was voted by his fellow peers in the NPL Victoria competition and clearly shows the impression that Lujic had left on his opponents throughout a dominant 2014 season.
Finally to top off an amazing night for Lujic, he was awarded the 2014 PS4 NPL Victoria Gold Medal award as the Best and Fairest Player in the competition. Lujic finished the count on 24 votes, one behind Heidelberg United’s Daniel Heffernen who was ineligible to win the award due to being suspended during the year.
Former South winger Goran Zoric finished just behind Lujic on 22 votes, while midfield workhorse Iqi Jawadi was South’s next best performer finishing the count on 17 votes.
A humble and appreciative Lujic took to twitter to thank the South fans following the historic night stating “Wow still cant believe the awards I won last night! Personally its been the best year I’ve had in my career. Thank you”
Wow still cant believe the awards I won last night! Personally its been the best year ive had in my career. Thank you @nplvictoria @smfc
— Milos Lujic (@MilosLujic) October 4, 2014
Lujic is the second South Melbourne player to win the prestigious FFV Gold Medal, with Fernando De Moraes capturing the award in a stunning 2010 season for the club.
The Club would like to congratulate both Milos Lujic and Chris Taylor on what was a successful 2014 NPL Victoria championship season.
Furthermore, South Melbourne FC would also like to congratulate SMWFC player Tiffany Elliadis who became the first ever player in WPL history to claim back-to-back Golden Boot and Gold Medal Awards.