Image: Mark Avellino

Following his side’s 3-3 draw against newly promoted Kingston City on Monday night, Green Gully coach Arthur Papas has questioned the consistency and standard of refereeing in NPL as well as the model of the league.

Gully were reduced to nine men late in the second half at The Grange Reserve as Jonathan Bounas and Jay Davies were both dismissed in separate incidents.

A physical encounter between both sides, robust challenges resulted in injuries to Kingston’s Daniel Bennett and Green Gully’s Luke Walker before half-time, with both players sustaining long term injuries.

The game reached tipping point with 10 minutes remaining with Gully leading 3-2 as Erhan Yalaz and Jonathan Bounas crossed paths, leading to push and shove and a yellow awarded to each player. It was Bounas’ second booking however and his night ended early.

Jay Davies’ dismissal followed shortly after as a strong tackle saw him win the ball, yet the referee showed no hesitation in awarding the Green Gully midfielder a straight red card.

“Especially in the second half we were excellent, we scored a tremendous goal, and unfortunately the referee is the deciding factor with the final result,” Papas said after the game.

“Naturally when you review any performance you need to take personal responsibility, as coaches we are scrutinised every week, in the same way players are. However, on a night like this and in general, the standard of officiating is too erratic and the consistency is missing which leads to a lack of confidence in the system.”

Papas also bemoaned the conditions of the away venue. With only one pitch at The Grange Reserve, Papas’ men warmed up on a grassy area adjacent to the pitch, which the Green Gully coach said was well below standard, to the point of being hazardous.

“If this is NPL level, and this is no disrespect to Kingston, they are doing their best and I’ve got some good friends here, but you can’t have this outside pitch considered satisfactory to warm up and almost get players injured due to the pot holes, the grass being above ankle height and the lack of space,” he said.

The Green Gully coach went on to take aim at the model and professionalism of the NPL, questioning the implementation and enforcement of infrastructure standards in the league, especially given the associated costs of league participation for players of all ages.

“Questions should be asked that when this NPL model was introduced and became such a talked about improvement some years back, where does the criteria established by FFV sit now in ensuring that this model is more than just a piece of paper, rather than a league of substance and a league which keeps moving towards anything close to a semi-professional league,” he said.

“What’s certain about the NPL is that it has been successful in driving up cost of fees for junior players and some clubs actually embraced that purely because they now get to blow more money on their first team and all sit around like they think that is actually benefitting football in this state.”

“If you want to go look at that in an isolated situation like tonight or go further and critique this model and be told this is a level just below professional, they’re joking themselves.”

He also questioned the Player Points System currently in place in the NPL and what it means for both coaches selecting squad and the access for young talent coming through.

“When a system like the PPS system is implemented, which is nothing short of a restriction of trade, you know the state of the game is at an all-time low because somehow this system is only applicable at Victorian NPL level but nowhere else in any league across the world, which you take seriously.”

“One should question how A-League coaches would operate if they could only make five changes to a squad per season, or if a new coach has his opportunity at, say, mid-season, how his job is affected by a system such as the PPS as he can’t make the changes he needs to implement his style of play.”

“Apparently one of the reasons for the PPS was to develop players but that would seem contradictory to the current situation occurring with talented players not being able to afford to play in the NPL because the model has now ensured that the majority of spots will end up going to those situated on the higher end of the socio-economic scale, reality is the top talents at elite level normally come outside of those realms.”

After two rounds, Gully are yet to hit their straps but Papas puts that down to a combination of his side’s evolving attacking style of play combined with a number of new faces in the squad yet to be tested at the level required.

“We have started exactly the same as the first two rounds as last year so nothing to worry about in that respect, we have brought in many new players and probably the pre-season hasn’t done us justice in terms of the opponents we played in the pre-season due to our ground being resurfaced. We needed sterner tests for which we didn’t have that opportunity,” he said.

“In terms of defending it’s not purely because you concede goals it’s a defending problem, it’s also got to do also with where and why you’re losing the ball and we still must improve with our co-operation and decision making relative to the position and structure we play with… if you’re not going to value the ball in the right areas then you’re going to be exposed on that and they are great learning moments and we’re not going to change that. This group is an exceptional group to work with, and as we improve on the details are the group will hurt some teams very soon.”

Green Gully’s next test comes in the shape of an away match to Bulleen Lions which has started the season with 2-2 draws against each of last season’s Grand Finalists in South Melbourne and Oakleigh Cannons.