Vic WPL Round One Verdict

It was a great weekend to watch football and the Victorian Womens Premier League's first round gala certainly drew a crowd.

Of course not as big as the crowd watching South Melbourne and the Melbourne Knights at John Cain stadium right next to the DISC pitches...but hey.

Never the less if you want to read all about the round visit the FFV website and read my match report. And the ladder and results are here.

Five matches were played, but I was only able to watch one full game - the grand final rematch between reigning champs Box Hill and Heidelberg.

It was a salivating prospect as these two have met in the final for the past five years with Box Hill taking the spoils four times.

But it was Heidelberg's day yesterday and their star striker Melanie Camilleri had a cracker opening game.

Camilleri fired a hat trick for Heidelberg United’s to defeat of reigning champions Box Hill Inter 3-1.

The Bergers emphatic victory over Box Hill was their best ever result over the eight-time champions and see them top the table at the end of the first round.

Camilleri’s quick and aggressive style suited astroturf surface at Darebin and Heidelberg’s coach John Liopas believes the striker is in her best form since she joined the club in 2007.

That’s quite a rap given Camilleri has topped the WPL goal scoring for the past two years and took out the top player award in 2009.

“You never know what you will get with Box Hill so to come away with three goals is a bonus,” Camilleri said after the match.

“This is the perfect way to see how where we are as a group, and it can only get better.”

“I always aim to capitalise on the opportunities I get and this year (the goal is) to get the girls to a grand final and lift the trophy,” she said of her ambitions this season.

Box Hill looked sluggish yesterday, but probably against any other team they may have had a win.

Their usual performers in Louisa Bisby and Lousia Farrugia were solid, but the Bergers looked more hungary for the ball and they had some young blood with enthusiasm to burn.

I suspect Box Hill may have had a poor pre-season and probably some injuries, but will they be able to maintain their impressive reputation as the league's long-time champion this year?

It will be fascinating to watch it all unravel in 2011.

Victorian women soccer starts

Some big rivalry's will be renewed this weekend...no not in the AFL but in the Victorian Womens Premier league, which starts on Sunday.

I am excited about 2011 - its a world cup year and the WPL competition has taken a youth leap this year with two talent development and a number of other teams opting for renewal.

The grand final rematch between Box Hill and Heidelberg is the block buster of the round and will be a good test to see which team fared better in the off season.

Box Hill is stacked with talent including a number of W-League players, but Heidelberg, the perrenial bridemaid should be hungary for success.

Everytime Heidelberg have beaten or drawn with Inter they have played agressively from the whistle and their forward have taken every chance to nail home goals.

The other two rivals which are new to the premier league is Doncaster Rovers and Bundoora United. The have moved up in the same leagues together and battled for top position in Division One of the womens competition last year.

It wouldn't be an exageration to call this a grudge match as both teams are going to need all the points they can get and keen to start thier inaugral season in the top league with a win.

The Ashburton and VCL Country will test both teams.

Ashburton by their own admission have undergone a renewal process and will feature a lot of young players while the country team will be playing only thier second match together are probably still trying to gel as a team.

Casey Comets is another team which has been re-vamped over the summer with a new coach and personnel and South Melbourne under the guise of former socceroo Alan Davidson improved as the season went on last year.

Sandringham could be the sleeping giant this year as they have a massive junior program and an experienced coach in Shaune Parton.

They have also recruited former WPL coach of the year, Deb Nichols, who parted ways with Casey Comets and led Casey to finals, Not only that she was known to play in goals for the club they were short on keepers.

Altona on the otherhand struggled last year and would have been relegated but for Bendigo withdrawing.

Can Box Hill and Heidelberg maintain thier dominance in a competition with a sawg of young and hungary girls?

Lets find out - you can find the fixture here

Victorian Womens Premier League Expands in 2011

Wow the Victorian Womens Premier League has really snuck up on me! It starts TODAY with a rescheduled match between the new teams VCL Country and the Emerging Athletes team.

Have a comment about this years WPL or the womens game - then tweet me @sangriablues

The league has undergone a major expansion this year, which includes two talent development teams.

The league has increased to 11 teams with two new teams Bundoora United and Doncaster Rovers joining the WPL after Prestons Lions’ relegation and Bendigo Vipers withdrawal.

The league kicked off this week with one game played on Sunday and the remaining games being played next weekend.

VCL Country and Emerging Athlete Program (EAP) started their season today and are playing both making their WPL debut as the FFV tried to ramp up its talent development pathway.

Both teams will play as a senior team only, will be exempt from relegation and they will play for points but not be able to play finals football.

They will have young and upcoming players as will Bundoora and Doncaster which will play their first year at the top level.

The lean towards to younger players is also being reflected in a number of established teams including Ashburton and Casey Comets.

Casey have a new coach after the club parted ways with Deb Nichols, leaving the WPL with no female coach in the top league.

Ian Williamson, who has coached in the FFV’s Champions League for a number of seasons, has taken over at the Comets and said he has been given direction from the club to rebuild the squad.

“We have a young and enthusiastic team with a lot of speed and commitment,” Williamson said adding that only five regular players from last year remain in the team.

Chris Michail has been reappointed at Ashburton and will be relying on many of his reserve players to step up to the next level.

Ashburton’s reserves team have topped the league in five out of the past six years.

“We have a completely different team this years, the average age has dropped dramatically as we enter a rebuilding phase,” Michail said.

The two powerhouse teams Box Hill and Heidelberg will have the same look and feel and will form the benchmark of the competition.

Box Hill are not without their own talent program with five club members being selected in the Victorian under-17 state teams last year.

They also have a string of Melbourne Victory players including Matildas captain Melissa Barbieri, New Zealand international Marlies Oostdam and Louisa Bisby.

Sandringham will look to build on their third place finish in 2010, which was their best to date, and South Melbourne’s Alan Davidson will be looking to consolidate after reversing the club’s decline last year.

Altona City will return to the WPL for their second year, despite finishing second last in their maiden season in 2010, escaping relegation when the Vipers withdrew.

The new talent program teams will add an element of the unknown to the WPL as will the rebuilding going on in a number of the established teams.

Injuries and squad depth will probably play a big role in making the top four but its probably a given that Box Hill and Heidelberg will battle it out at the top.

Expect some upsets and expect to see some young talent start to make an impact – in a world cup year for the womens game that’s about as good as it can get.