Full preview of the 2023 Men’s Premier League season
Defending champions Hellenic will be tough to beat again this season while a pair of Darwin Hearts stars are on the move.
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Darwin football returns on April 21 with a strengthened Hellenic out to defend its Men’s Premier League grand final win.
Meanwhile, Mindil Aces, who have played in the last four deciders, will look to spoil the Blues’ run for more silverware.
It comes amid some interesting player movement during the off-season with Darwin Hearts losing Sulav Maskey and Humble Man Mbukana — heading to Hellenic and University Azzurri respectively.
The pair kicked 14 goals between them in the MPL last season.
At Azzurri, Lee Addision takes over the reins and will look to bolster the league’s leakiest defence in 2022.
Get your full season preview of Men’s Premier League football from commentator and former Olympic manager, George Skoufezis.
Port Darwin
Last season: Seventh
The Wharfies only managed the two victories last season, against sides that finished immediately above them in University Azzurri and Darwin Olympic.
There were a number of narrow results throughout their season as well, suffering 3-2 defeats at the hands of Mindil Aces and Casuarina.
The recipe will be simple for co-coaches Ryan Bailey and Colin Habgood — put in the hard work and the results will come.
Known for their physical presence on the pitch, and some tidy acquisitions with Dylan Dos Santos in net and Ryan Schllemer pulling the strings in the middle, the only direction is up for a team who has been made to wait too long for a finals appearance.
If they can establish a consistent starting squad – 41 different players used last season – and scoring threat throughout the year, they will take more points off other Premier League sides.
University Azzurri
Last season: Sixth
The Azzurri were a very polarising side in 2022.
When they were good, they were very good and when they were off the pace, it was very evident.
Two of their four wins were against the top two sides, in a 3-2 victory against Mindil Aces and a 2-1 triumph over Hellenic.
Lee Addison is now at the helm and has already been hard at work with recruitment, as more than a handful of new faces are looking to take the field.
It will be a very fine balancing act to integrate new faces into a team that was very youth- centric.
If they can clean up their backline, having conceded a league-high 58 goals, Azzurri will be more competitive for longer in bigger matches.
Darwin Olympic
Last season: Fifth
Darwin Olympic once again missed out on finals football last season, and despite winning the same number of matches as fourth-placed Darwin Hearts, they were defeated far too many times.
The Reds were certainly competitive in most matches they played, but often lacked that gilt-edged conviction that led them to trophy after trophy.
Louis Buntin takes over as Men’s Premier League coach, after guiding the reserves the previous season, and he has already made a sizeable impression across the club.
Instilling discipline across all facets of the senior divisions, it will go a long way towards seeing improvement on the pitch.
If they can find multiple avenues to goal, after veteran marksman Mitchell Amidy slotted 14 goals in 2022, they will rack up more points on the board.
Darwin Hearts
Last season: Fourth
The Darwin Hearts enjoyed a very competitive season in 2022, making finals for the first time in their club’s history.
They were aided by the return of their Nepalese magician in Sulav Maskey and Humble Man Mbukana who both dispatched seven goals apiece.
However, Maskey and Mbukana have since moved on from the club, heading to Hellenic and University Azzurri respectively.
Kumar Khatri is currently at the helm, and despite losing a number of stars, the club has recruited reliable faces locally and promoted a number of reserve players.
If they can address the personnel that have departed the club with clever acquisitions, they will hold on to a finals spot this season.
Casuarina
Last season: Third
The Rowdies experienced a productive season as far as the Men’s Premier League goes, a single point behind second-placed Hellenic meant the Rowdies kept pace with the sides at the pointy end of the season.
The combination of Mark Casimiro and Raoel Yakub – both finished on 11 goals each – proved clinical and deadly in many matches throughout the season, with talisman Robert Kilmartin only a few back with eight strikes finding the back of the net.
Despite Yakub currently pursuing overseas opportunities, Casuarina are more than confident their existing personnel will still enable them to be a talking point in 2023.
If returning coach Zelio Casimiro can continue the Rowdies style of play, they will once again be a force.
Hellenic
Last season: Second
The Blues were the best defensive side, conceding a league-leading 21 goals, with the partnership of Tega Adjeke and Alex Turner becoming the most reliable duo in the Top End.
Goalkeeper Kane McAdam was also filling his gloves with a multitude of important saves.
However, it’s their potency going forward which saw the Blues go on to win the MPL grand final.
That night it was Matthew McNab combining with Simon Bell which saw the Blues home 1-0.
And in the regular season, McNab (15 goals) and Bell (13 goals) were both consistent scorers. They’ll be primed to go again this year and with the return of Sulav Maskey, there’s no limit in 2023.
If coach Dimitris Galanopoulos can get all his pieces to click together for the Blues, they will be extremely difficult to stop.
Mindil Aces
Last season: First
The Mighty Mindil Aces headed into season 2022 with the prospect of completing back-to-back-to-back grand final wins, but two trophies which eluded coach Daniel McCormick were the Australia Cup and premiership.
A strength to their squad was their even contributions across the pitch, with eight players with three or more goals, and their ability to grind out results many times in tight contests.
If Daniel McCormick can go once again and deliver through his high football standards, they will go on another long cup run and be a premiership contender.
Former Aces captain and junior Jacob Meehan Lee has also returned to the club from Hearts, and will lead the team’s defence in centre back.
Round 1 action starts off with Mindil against Hellenic on April 21 and Port Darwin versus Azzurri and Casuarina taking on Darwin Hearts the following day.
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