As round 16 has now concluded, it is a good time to do my pre-transfer period ladder prediction for VPL1. 1. Melbourne Knights 🏆 2. Northcote City ⬆️ 3. Brunswick Juventus 4. Melbourne Victory ⬆️ 5. Bulleen Lions 6. Manningham United 7. Melbourne Srbija 8. Eltham Redbacks 9. North Geelong Warriors 10. Brunswick City 11. North Sunshine Eagles 12. Western United ⬇️ 13. Langwarrin SC ⬇️ 14. Port Melbourne Sharks ⬇️ This is purely a prediction. For me, Melbourne Knights and Northcote City are clearly the two best teams in the league, and they should run away as the clear top 2. I expect Melbourne Victory to finish the season very strongly, and Eltham’s recent slump to continue. North Sunshine are capable of staying up. Thoughts? #NPLVIC #NPLMVIC #VPL1 #VPL

What stood out to me is how aggressive South Melbourne can set up in the first phase of build up. Javi Lopez is instructed by Sinisa Cohadzic to step forward as a centre back, allowing South Melbourne to create a numerical advantage somewhere further on the pitch, which they failed to exploit in this example. Very interesting, as they are one intercepted pass away from conceding an open goal. #NPLVIC #NPLMVIC

Nick Tolios appreciation post 🙌 After falling short in last years Senol NPL Victoria grand final to John Anastasiadis’ Heidelberg United, Dandenong City have done the double over Heidelberg this season. Heidelberg United 1-2 Dandy City ✅ Dandy City 4-1 Heidelberg United ✅ As previously stated, I believe Tolios has the best approach and set up against Anastasiadis, and the proof is in the pudding. Dandenong City now have three wins in a row, and have seemingly recovered from their slow start to the season. Sitting just 4 points off the top 6, can Nick Tolios’ side make a late push for the finals? 👀 #NPLVIC #NPLMVIC

Have absolutely no words at all. 🤯 Could be one of the most confusing sackings you’ll ever see. I don’t know what to make of this, but from the football side of things it is an insane decision. Sinisa Cohadzic’s South Melbourne had a strong and clear identity which had them overachieving in the league whilst dealing with OFC pro league commitments as well. Not to mention the position the club was in when he took over. Any side in the NPL would be lucky to have Cohadzic and his coaching staff leading their club. No words.

While I'm on the topic of NPL football, I wanted to mention that I've been really impressed by Nick Hegarty's @FCHumeCity this season. Top of the league in NPL Victoria at the midway point, despite the fierce competition, while playing some attractive vertical football.

With the NPL Victoria campaign reaching its midpoint, trends are starting to lock in. Some clubs have exceeded every expectation, others are searching for answers. Here’s my full mid‑season assessment.

We have been blessed tonight with two exciting fixtures in VPL1. Northcote City vs Bulleen Lions and Melbourne Knights vs Eltham Redbacks 😍 Northcote City vs Bulleen Lions: My game of the week. Max Clarke’s gutsy Northcote hosting Iacopo La Rocca’s flying Bulleen. 1st vs 5th. A game that truly could go either way. Bulleen have really stepped it up from the start of the season, keeping three clean sheets in a row in the league, FIVE in their last SIX games. R6: Bulleen 2-0 Knights 🧤 R7: Brunswick City 0-2 Bulleen 🧤 R8: Bulleen 2-0 Western United 🧤 R9: Langwarrin 2-2 Bulleen ❌ R10: Bulleen 3-0 North Geelong 🧤 R11: North Sunshine 0-1 Bulleen 🧤 R12: Bulleen 0-0 Melbourne Srbija 🧤 And in their way tonight is the second best defence in the league. Northcote City started the season incredibly, scoring EIGHTEEN goals in their first SIX games, but since then, they have only managed FOUR goals in their recent SIX games. Max Clarke’s Northcote have struggled to score goals, which can be due to many different reasons, but I personally believe it is a mentality thing, an obsession with grinding out results as opposed to putting teams on the front foot. I will speak more on this in another post. It will be interesting to see how both sides set up tonight. I believe there’s no reason Bulleen can’t go on and beat the league leaders tonight. I expect total control of possession by La Rocca’s side, against a well-structured, stubborn Northcote City block. Predictions? #VPL #VPL1 #NPLMVIC #NPLVIC