Melbourne Knights coach Ben Surey discusses club’s expectations for NPL Victoria 2024

Two semi-finals and a preliminary final, 2023 was a strong season for Melbourne Knights but the NPL Victoria power wants more in 2024.

Mitch Hore in action for Melbourne Knights.

As one of the traditional powers of Victorian football, Melbourne Knights always want more.

A 2023 season that delivered a history-making Australia Cup semi-final appearance, Dockerty Cup semi-final and NPL Victoria preliminary final was impressive but sights are set higher again in 2024.

The Knights will be led by new coach Ben Surey, who takes the reins from reigning Coach of the Year Ben Cahn.

Cahn returned to Queensland at the end of last season and has since been appointed Brisbane Roar A-League coach.

Surey said the club had made “massive strides” last year and was well placed to challenge for silverware.

Ivan Franjic in action for the Melbourne Knights.

“We had a good season, spirits were high and the atmosphere was good when we played Brisbane (Roar) and Avondale away,” Surey said.

“We were so close but without anything to show for it in the end, we didn’t win anything which is what we set out to do.

“We had a good run and made massive strides for the club on and off the pitch, so hopefully we can go one step further.”

After a bright start, Knights finished the home-and-away season in fourth with 14 wins, 11 points behind third-placed Oakleigh and 19 back of premier Avondale, which would then end their season in a 1-0 preliminary final loss.

Oakleigh Cannons proved too good in the Dockerty Cup semi, winning 3-1 and Brisbane Roar stopped ended the Australia Cup fairytale 1-0.

Gian Albano finished the season as the club’s leading scorer with 16 goals across all competitions, including 11 in the league.

Critically, Knights have retained the majority of their playing list for the new season and added three quality recruits.

Tommy Semmy and Thomas Woerndl arrive from Altona Magic, while Ben Carrigan comes on board from relegated Bentleigh Greens.

Gian Albano was the Melbourne Knights’ leading scorer.

Meanwhile, Luka Kolic has joined Melbourne Victory, while Josh Phelps, Ben Collins and Anton Kinnander have also departed.

Surey said a stable off-season would be critical in making a deep run.

“We’ve retained most of the squad from last year but there’s still some new faces and new ideas,” he said.

“Not everything is exactly the same … but what we saw last year worked, the philosophy worked.

“We want to play an attractive, attacking brand again but being hard to beat and defending with everyone on the same page.

“(The recruits) have all slotted in really well, Tom and Ben were captains so we’ve brought into some good experience and leadership.

“Tommy has been around the league for a couple of years and hopefully he’ll be a real threat for us and carry on his form for Altona.”

The Knights have a pack pre-season schedule ahead of a blockbuster season-opening clash against South Melbourne at Lakeside Stadium on February 8.

The club has already played practice matches against Brunswick Juventus and Dandenong City since new year and has games against sister clubs Sydney United in Sydney and O’Connor Knights at home before a final hit-out against NPL2 club Eastern Lions.

While Surey said the club isn’t thinking about the heavyweight clash against South Melbourne just yet, it was an exciting way to kick off the new season.

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“It’s a good start to have, it might be a good time to get them because they’ve made a lot of changes while they’re still getting used to each other but you’ve also got less time to do your research, so it works both ways,” he said.

“We had a good block of training before Christmas and a couple of games in there as well.

“We’re slowly building up the minutes for the players, trying to avoid injury and get minutes into the legs at the same time.”

After kicking off the NPL season against South Melbourne, Knights’ first home game is in Round 2 against face Port Melbourne in a rematch of the 2023 elimination final.