Opinion
In 2019 Football Victoria made a decision that would create three years of intrigue and uncertainty.
It was decided that the NPL 2, which at the time was split into two regional leagues with a West and an East division, would be tiered into NPL2 and NPL3.
This meant that the bottom four clubs of the NPL 2 East and the NPL 2 West respectively, together with four promoted sides from the State League would be grouped together to form what would be known as the NPL3.
As it turned out, the Melbourne City Youth and Melbourne Victory Youth were both in the bottom four and would drop into the fourth tier.
Added to that the A-League’s newest side, Western United, would submit a youth team of their own to compete alongside these teams in the place of Murray United, who dropped out of the competition due to financial reasons.
In addition, a fallen giant, the Preston Lions, a team that played thirteen seasons in the top flight of Australian football back in the NSL days, was in the ascendancy as they were one of the promoted sides from the State League North after falling on hard times in the previous decade.
Throwing these teams into the mixer along with regular teams from this level such as Box Hill United, the Springvale White Eagles and the Whittlesea Ranges meant that this newly formed division known as the NPL 3 was an eclectic mix of diverse teams offering some interesting contrasts in style on a football pitch.
To play in this league, there were tough away trips to Corio to face Geelong Macedonia or to Ballarat in the Gold fields.
Week on week the profile of player could change as you could be facing barrelling wingers such as North Sunshines Dillon Memishi, a hardened thirty year semi-pro at Doveton or the latest 17-year old prospect emerging from the the Melbourne City youth academy.
The styles of football varied as the A-League reserve teams may be trying out players in new formations, while standard 4-4-2 could be seen at many of the teams, while Nunawading played a fluid possession based game.
As someone who moved to Reservoir, I decided to choose Preston as a team to follow and was treated to a season and a half of drama across three years, due to season one not even starting, season two being cancelled halfway through and then 2022 finally seeing a full season completed at the third attempt.
As it turned out, of all the teams who came to Preston, Nunawading impressed me the most and they were one of the best teams in the league in terms of style of football and organisation, they were just unlucky that they were playing well in this league, at this point in time.
When you consider that they were faced with the youth teams from the top three teams in the country as well as the ‘cashed-up’ Preston, it was a feat in itself that they stood out.
Preston had the most resources at their disposal and won the league in style, but it wasn’t only that they had the better quality of player, Preston also possessed something that cannot be bought which was a ‘never say die’ attitude as they refused to be beaten even when they had under par performances, this will serve them well in the NPL2 next year after achieving promotion.
It’s unlikely that the fourth tier of Australian football will be blessed with such a diverse mix of teams again, as Preston, City and United all gained promotion, leaving only Victory remaining, making the 2022 season a unique moment in time.
When Victory eventually progress up the NPL pyramid themselves and join City and Western United at a higher level Preston join the second division, this league will be a distant memory from a faraway place. But for those who witnessed it can treasure this moment in time.
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