When the lights went out early at the Riverside Stadium on an unseasonably balmy Wednesday night in early August, curtailing the rearranged Round 14 fixture between the Big Cats of the Panthers and Tigers, they metaphorically pulled the curtain down on the National Premier League (NPL) season.

For that was the last we were to see of the combatants in Canberra’s top-flight, the COVID pandemic finally getting the best of the resolute denizens of the National Capital.

 However, the manner of the success shouldn’t dampen what was an exciting and entertaining 2021 NPL1 season in Canberra, a season in which at its culmination, it was a Tiger roaring at the summit and a storied institution left licking its wounds and contemplating life in NPL2.

New coaches at new clubs, and a raft of player movement, meant that pre-season expectations and predictions needed to be tailored with a sense of ‘je nais sais quoi’ as the spectre of relegation was thrust upon the eight elite clubs that comprise the top tier in the pinnacle of Capital Football’s leagues.

Early indications were that Canberra Olympic and West Canberra Wanderers might struggle and yet, under their cerebral coaches, Robbie Cattanach and Ulisses Da Silva respectively, they began the campaign in frighteningly good form. Buoyed by the exuberance of youth, and some astute acquisitions, both Olympic and Wanderers started superbly.

Olympic were unbeaten in the opening three whilst, first day blip at home to Gungahlin United notwithstanding, after five rounds Wanderers had picked up ten points from a possible fifteen. Form may have dipped for both during the latter stages of the truncated season, understandably so with an inexperienced group in the case of Olympic, but points on the board proved to be critical and neither were in any serious doubt of dropping to the second tier.

BarTV Sports Football was there all the way of course, and our first match of the season left many wondering if there was a team that could cope with the sheer quality of the reigning league champions Canberra Croatia. The 2020 head of the class began with a testing trip to Nijong Oval and a fixture against the Tigers, for whom Head Coach Ryan Grogan had identified, and many thought fixed, the problems that beset them the year before.

After ninety minutes of Croatia dominance, a rampant 3-0 win which could have been more, there were plenty wondering just who could stop Dean Ugrinic and his team from strolling towards a repeat of their trophy haul of less than twelve months previously. The answer, somewhat bizarrely, was right under our noses.

We didn’t know it at the time, but Tigers would suffer just two losses in the truncated season, both against Canberra Croatia. Indeed, after their stunning 5-2 FFA Cup Qualifying Final success over Monaro Panthers, Grogan’s charges embarked on a winning streak of half-a-dozen matches, ultimately taking over top spot on the ladder, a position that they weren’t to relinquish. With goals throughout, a dynamic midfield and a dependable defensive unit, they were almost unbeatable and worthy top dogs.

Chasing the leading duo were a trio of clubs who all had hopes of the top four and finals football. Monaro Panthers had tempted Frank Cachia out of the relative comforts of the commentary box and into the hot-seat at the Riverside Stadium, the former Olympic head honcho utilising his little black book to assemble a strong squad over the border in Queanbeyan. As with any new venture, it took time to gel, but form in the latter half of the season promised an exciting tilt at a potential Grand Final.

In the same boat were Gungahlin United. Marcial Munoz lost several critical team members to the Tigers evolution but called upon arguably the best front-three in the league. Philippe Bernabo-Madrid led the Golden Boot rankings at the curtailment of the competition, and he was ably assisted by Michael John and Misko Naumoski. The Gunners had only suffered one loss in eight when lockdown intervened.

Fabian Miceli, who took over at Belconnen United at the start of 2021, led the Blue Devils to the brink of the four deploying Darren Bailey as an auxiliary striker and reaping the rewards of the Scots’ verve and enthusiasm. A blend of youth and experience was coming along nicely, and a chance of finals football was in their hands.

At the other end of the spectrum was Tuggeranong United. Mitch Stevens’ group would end the campaign with only seven points. If ever there was a team that perhaps gave lie to the cliché of ‘the table doesn’t lie’ it was Tuggies. Seven draws set a new NPL record in Canberra, that six of those seven came in succession beggared belief.

Competitive in all bar two fixtures, two poor halves against Croatia (first) and Wanderers (second), the lack of an out-and-out goalscorer was their Achilles heel. United have some outstanding young players in their midst, defensive Twin Towers Harrison Buesnel and Tarisayi Mbogo spring to mind, and you sense a rebuild at the club around the next generation.

Ultimately, the ending of the campaign due to the COVID enforced lockdown deprived football-lovers of what was shaping up to be a tremendously exciting run-in and finals series. The Panthers were building nicely, coming into form at the right time. The Blue Devils were solid and hard to beat, on the cusp of the four. Gunners were their usual buoyant goal-laden selves whilst Croatia had a group that, on their day, could be unplayable.

And then there was the Tigers. Fluent. Exciting. Relentless. Champion. We will never know what might have been, but only those of the most churlish disposition would begrudge the Tigers their crown. Roll on 2022, where we welcome a former new club to the top table, bid a fond adieu to another, and look forward to a hopefully uninterrupted race to be Canberra’s number one.