By: Russ Gibbs

NPL2, the second tier of top-flight football in the ACT and surrounding region, will continue to provide some outstanding matches and some huge commitment from the nine teams that are scheduled to take part in a shortened season in 2020.

With an eclectic mix of clubs, each with a proud history and heritage, matchdays in NPL2 are often scintillating affairs. But, which of these teams are going to be setting the standard this time around? Let’s take a closer look at what’s been happening in each squad.

---

 ANU FC

Last Season: 3rd (won Grand Final)
Head Coach: Jim DAWSON
In: Keegan JACKSON, Marc O’NEILL
Out: Jake BRADLEY, James GAZY, Euan PETERKIN

The standout team from NPL2 over the last few years, ANU FC will once more be the team to beat. Surprisingly, by their own standards, the students failed to finish first last year, but more than made up for that minor indiscretion by turning in an immense performance come finals time, culminating in a 5-1 drubbing of O’Connor Knights to claim the Grand Final silverware. Their home ground advantage on the synthetic turf at ANU Willows allows them to place a fast-paced game that bulldozes their way over their opponents. Reaching the semi-finals of the 2019 FFA Cup Qualifying competition in Canberra, losing narrowly to Canberra FC, proved they can mix it with the big boys. They start the season as favourites once again.

---

BRINDABELLA BLUES

Last Season: 9th
Head Coach: Zoran GLAVINIC
In: Damien COREY, David GURNEY, Mitchell KAYE, James MENHAM, Sean MURPHY, Frank RUSSO, Vince RUSSO, Daniel WHITEHORN, Sebastian YOUNG
Out: Tom HIRST, Steven KLUG, Chris RUIZ, Jonathan TOOLE

There’s much work to be done at Calwell for a team that struggled to impose themselves at this level in 2019, leading to a change in Head Coach, as Zoran Glavinic takes the reins. Two wins were scant reward for the talent that Brindabella could put on the park last term, the Blues peaking early in an unforgettable victory over Narrabundah in the FFA Cup Qualifying tournament when they overturned a 0-3 deficit to triumph 4-3. A leaky defence, conceding four or more on seven occasions, coupled with an inability to strike at the other end, led to cause for concern and Glavinic faces the tasks of building the dam as well as finding the necessary firepower to turn that around. It should make for an interesting season for those with Blue at heart.

---

NARRABUNDAH FC
Last Season: 8th
Head Coach: Jono ZALUNARDO
In: Ryan DE VRIES, Nathan DUCK, Geordie FREEMAN, Tom HIRST, Brandon SMITH, Luke TAYLOR, Will TOWNSEND, Stefan VUJIC, Mitch WICKS, Zarif ZARIF
Out: Matt ATKINS, Tam DE LACEY, Jesse GANT, Shane HAIDUK, Duncan HARRINGTON, Dim MIHAILAKIS, Nic MIHAILAKIS, Jeremy SALEH, Foti SGOUROS, Elliot YEATMAN

Huge change at Narrabundah, as the Bulls, a mainstay of the second tier of Canberra football, aim to improve on what was a disappointing 2019 campaign. Jono Zalunardo’s men ended the season in 8th place with only two wins to their name and also saw themselves bundled out of the FFA Cup Qualifying at the first stage in front of the live TV cameras after leading 3-0 against Brindabella Blues. With plenty of new talent pulling on the famous red shirts of the Spanish club the Bulls will be pushing for more wins in 2020. With a short season, a solid start could see them upsetting some of the more fancied outfits and giving Bulls’ fans something to cheer come the end of the season.

---

 

O’CONNOR KNIGHTS
Last Season: 2nd (lost in Grand Final)
Head Coach: Miro TRNINIC
In: Jack BUSCH, Robbie DEELEY, Alan GASTON, Dylan GLOVER, Jordan GLOVER, Ian GRAHAM, Mitch IREDALE, Niko KREŠIĆ, Jack MILLER, Pat O’ROURKE, Jack RUTHERFORD, Dean TOMESKI
Out: Gregory BULLOCK, Jason DENHAM, Brandan HAWKER, Keegan JACKSON, Danny KRAJAČIĆ, Jake WILSENER

The O’Connor Knights made the NPL2 big dance in 2019 and will be sorely keen to make up for their disappointment of freezing on the day where they were heavily beaten by ANU FC. Some judicious signings have led many pundits to believe that the Knights can repeat the feat in 2020 and yet go one better and claim the crown. Always entertaining to watch, the Knights will play an attractive brand of football mixing silk with steel. They ran out of puff and pace in the Grand Final last year and that’s an area that Head Coach Miro Trninic will have hoped to have addressed with his incoming group. Do that, and the Knights could prosper again, and their off-season recruitment, despite losing Robbie Deeley through injury, suggests this is a real area of opportunity. 

---

 QUEANBEYAN CITY

Last Season: 4th (lost in Elimination Final)
Head Coach: Luka UJDUR
In: FREDERICO, Jonathan KERZBERG, Goran MUKEVSKI
Out: Jack BUSH, Dylan COLBERTALDO, Goran JOSIFOVSKI, David MCCARRON, Jack MILLER, Ivan PUCOSKI

A team with a huge amount of pedigree, Queanbeyan City always enter every season with a positive attitude and ranked amongst the favourites to succeed. This is largely due to their storied past and their ability to attract quality footballers to the Riverside Stadium. Under the stewardship of Luka Ujdur, formerly head honcho at Canberra FC, the 2020 campaign looks no different from the outside. The signing of ex-Belconnen United and Tuggeranong United forward Goran Mukevski adds extra firepower, something that was missing as they stumbled at the first hurdle in the Elimination Final against ANU FC. Those extra goals, if Mukevski can provide them, might tip the scales in City’s favour and have them pushing for glory.

---

WAGGA CITY WANDERERS
Last Season: 6th
Head Coach: Michael BABIC
In: Tyler ALLEN, Dylan BERKREY, Carl PIDESKI, Matt MENSER, Anoti MATOWE, Luke STEVENS
Out: Callum BARBER, Jake PLOENGES, Stuey SMEETHY

A sixth-place slot was a decent return for Wagga City Wanderers in their debut campaign in the ACT competition and, given some stability, they will be looking for improvement on that this year. The addition of two exceptional talents in the maverick skills of Matt Menser, the veteran having bagged plentiful goals in the Capital Football Premier League over a decade, before moving interstate, and the silky Carl Pideski, will add guile and goals. As with Yoogali, the distance to travel to Canberra may well take its toll, but the relatively short campaign could prove to their advantage. A good start, with some points on the board, could potentially lead to a top-four finish.

---

WESTON-MOLONGLO FC

Last Season: 5th
Head Coach: Ned JEANES
In: Sean AUSTIN, Tim DEHELEAN, Juan MANCILLA, James NOJA, Bryce RUTHVEN, Jack SAMMANN, Cameron SAYNER, Harry WRIGHT
Out: Maxime BAUX, John DAVIS, Jordan GLOVER, Cameron GORDON, Adam JOHNSON, Lind REDMAN, Jack RUTHERFORD, Marc O’NEILL

Having missed out on finals football by a mere two points in 2019, Weston-Molonglo FC is headed in a new direction this season under the guidance of their Head Coach, Ned Jeanes, recruited from Townsville Premier League side Wulguru United. They’ve also brought in a host of talent from interstate, attracting players from Darwin, Cameron Sayner, Melbourne in the form of Bryce Ruthven and Jack Sammann. and as far afield as Colombia with Juan Mancilla adding some South America flair. The Magpies always offer a stern test to every opposition but will be our to make sure that they can compete with the teams at the top end of the ladder to ensure a successful 2020.

---

WHITE EAGLES
Last Season: 1st (lost in Preliminary Final)
Head Coach: Graeme PLATH
In: Ryan BROSE, Hassan ALNUWAYSIR, Alusine GRANT, David MCCARRON, Bradley MOORE, Christopher NIKITAS, Mitchell STEENBERGEN, Aleks VUJIC
Out: Ohio ASIKHIA, Callum BEATON, Caleb CULLEN-RUA, Zinelabiddine ELJAMMOUDI, Tom HEWITT, David KEMP, Dominic KERN, Nicolce NOVESKI, Michael RYAN

Always at the forefront of any challenge for trophies at this level, the White Eagles will be smarting at having been ousted in the Preliminary Final by their old nemesis O’Connor Knights in 2019. The addition of some recognised talent in the likes of Mitch Steenbergen and Chris Nikitas, who both have NPL1 experience will be key to offset the loss of the mercurial Zinelabiddine Eljammoudi. The Eagles have pounced on Monaro Panthers decision to let American goalkeeper Ryan Brose leave, giving them a formidable last line of defence but it might be further up the park where the Eagles fortunes are made, or undone, in 2020. Whichever way it goes, they’ll be a team to watch. 

---

 YOOGALI SC

Last Season: N/A
Head Coach: Luke SANTOLIN
In: Joe PREECE, Danny ROCHE, Calvin RODDIE
Out: None

Attracting many of the Riverina Rhinos NPL1 team, which dissolved at the end of the 2019 season, Yoogali FC makes the step up from the local Griffith competition, one they have dominated, into the Canberra division. Four league titles in succession have proven that Yoogali has plenty of local talent, but it remains to be seen whether they can translate that into the ACT’s second tier. Distance, and the subsequent toll that takes on numbers, might be their Achilles heel, but at home, they’re likely to be a tough nut to crack. If they can get some points on their travels, they could sell push for the top four and, coupled with home form, that might prove conclusive.