In NPL Women’s Victoria, it seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.
When referee Caitlin Williams blows her whistle to signal the commencement of the 2022 NPLW Victoria Grand Final between Calder United and FC Bulleen Lions, it will mark the end of a 1092-day wait to crown a new champion of Victorian women’s football. Three long years in which hopes and goals of everyone involved in the local game were thrown into upheaval by a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic that tore best-laid plans asunder.
Football, of course, hardly stood still in this time, especially in a women’s game that is increasingly driving its growth in Australia and around the world.
The Women’s World Cup is heading to Australia and New Zealand in 2023, presenting boundless opportunities for growth. In Victoria, the 2023 season will see the NPLW Victoria competition grow to 12 teams – offering clubs and the players within them more opportunities to play at Victoria’s elite level.
A lot of exciting progress.
And yet, despite all the significant changes that have swept the broader Australian landscape, the type of progress that gets loudly trumpeted in press releases and by executives eager to ride the wave of goodwill and excitement in the space, the 2022 NPLW Victoria also carries a decided layer of familiarity for followers of the local scene; Calder and Bulleen heading into Sunday effectively getting set to pick up right where they left off three years ago.
It was these two sides that met in the decider at AAMI Park three years ago, Alycia Eicke grabbing the lone goal of the game in just the seventh minute as Calder became champions of Victorian football for the second time and secured the first treble of the cup, premiership, and championship in their short history.
Sustained excellence being the name of the game for both those clubs, Raquel Deralas, Emma Robers, Adriana Taranto, Stacey Papadopoulos, Mel Taranto, Aleks Sinclair, and 2022 NPLW Goalkeeper of the Year Alyssa Dall'Oste will all reprise their 2019 roles for coach Mark Torcaso’s side on Sunday, while Bulleen will return Emily Shields, Tessa Sernio, Alex Natoli, Lia Privitelli, and Emily Dolzan, with Caitlin Friend since having made the transition from Lioness player to coach.
Upsetting Heidelberg United 2-1 in the semifinals to punch their tickets to the Final, Bulleen will in fact be competing in their third grand final in succession at Olympic Village; previously lifting their sole Victorian title in 2018 when they upset premiers South Melbourne 3-1 at AAMI Park off the back of a match-winning performance from Shields.
Though it now has a chance to end on a significant high, 2022 has, to this point, been an up-and-down campaign for Bulleen. Though able to attract some of the most talented players in the state to the Veneto Club, injuries, illness, and international and professional commitments have conspired to consistently deny Friend the opportunity to bring a fully armed and operational battle station to bear on the league.
While Victorian women’s football legend Tiffany Eliadis returned to action in the win over Heidelberg last week and likely future Matilda Paige Zois is back after representing Australia at the U20 Women's World Cup, Bulleen will take the field on Sunday without the services of players such as captain Kayla Morrison, New Zealand international Rebekah Stott, and Serbian international Tyla-Jay Vlajnic.
That’s not to say, of course, that Bulleen is helpless. Just ask Heidelberg. For players such as Privitelli, Zois, Eliadis, and Alana Jancevski, the club has the firepower to do damage.
Of course, Bulleen will need to be firing on all cylinders if they are to get anything past Calder, who enter into Sunday searching for back-to-back trebles and having only conceded seven goals on their way to already securing the 2022 premiership and Nike F.C. Cup.
Defeating FV Emerging 1-0 in their semi-final, Calder’s stout defence and suffocating midfield, featuring newly crowned NPLW Media Player of the Year Alana Černe, might be a bit of a departure from year’s past – when the three-headed dragon of Sinclair, Angie Beard, and Cathrine Zimmerman run roughshod over the league – but it’s still delivering trophies in abundance.
And with Sinclair still serving as a leader and inspiration in attack, Melissa Taranto operating in the midfield even in the absence of her injured twin Adriana, Cori Cain, Stacey Papadopoulos, Emma Robers, Natasha Dakic, Calder has difference makers in every section of the park.
MATCH DETAILS
Date: Sunday, 11 September
Location: Olympic Village, Heidelberg West
Kick-Off: 1:00PM
Tickets: Available online or at the gate (until sold out). Due to demand, we strongly recommend purchasing an online ticket before Sunday via the link below.
Purchase Your Tickets Here