SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines have targeted promotion after three successive seasons of relegation. It’s an ambitious aim and one that some will see as fanciful, but try telling that to new senior coach Al Baldwin and assistants Chris Sanderson and Andy McCabe. At the start of September, Baldwin expected to be named new senior coach of Mount Martha as Charlie Platt had told the committee he wouldn’t continue in that role. But when Mount Martha president Sanderson stepped down on 1 September, Baldwin’s situation changed dramatically. Sanderson saw Pines advertising for a senior coach on 10 September and suggested to close…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
JAMIE Skelly has been appointed for a fourth straight season as head coach of VPL1 outfit Langwarrin. While Skelly and Langy president Rob Vickery were fine-tuning an agreement last week, Scott Morrison and Stuart Johnson surprisingly resigned as head coaches of Peninsula Strikers and Rosebud respectively. Skelly and Vickery held informal discussions about the coaching role for the past couple of months and the outcome had been anticipated. Skelly took over as senior coach at Lawton Park at the end of the 2022 season and under him the side’s highest finish has been ninth last year. It finished 10th this…
Soccer CAN Mount Eliza become the first club to win State 6 South-East? Luke Armao thinks so as eyes turn to the major restructure of the State Leagues next year and the creation of two new tiers of competition – State 6 and State 7. Football Victoria also has decided to standardise the leagues structure by turning all seven leagues into two regional divisions – South-East and North-West. Mount Eliza has been competing at State Leagues level since 2023 and has shown steady progress – a statistic that supports Armao’s assessment of its prospects next year. Under Bryce Ruthven in…
Soccer The twists and turns of the final round of the season had to be seen to be believed. This was the stuff of legend and will be spoken about for years to come. It’s the season that a rebuilt Skye squad achieved what most thought impossible and the season that ended in heartbreak for Strikers when the prize was ripped from their grasp. Strikers went into Saturday’s State 2 home game in second spot, one point above Skye, but Scott Morrison’s team could only draw 3-3 with Casey Comets. Skye had been given a huge opportunity to grab second…
Soccer BAXTER’S 3-0 derby win over Somerville Eagles on Saturday has secured the winner’s league status while condemning the loser to relegation. A major State League restructure next season has severely impacted promotion and relegation rules in State 4 and State 5 divisions. While the State 4 champion is promoted, there’s no promotion in State 5. In State 4, teams finishing in second down to sixth spots remain in State 4, while teams finishing seventh to 10th drop into State 5, and the bottom two teams drop into a new State 6. Chelsea, Baxter, and Rosebud will play in State…