As a theoretically impartial journalist, supporting teams in our region is an absolute no-no — so thank god for the NPL loophole.
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With only one club in the region — the great Goulburn Valley Suns — Outside The Box has whacked the Melbourne Victory season ticket in the microwave and jumped fully on board the Suns train.
As a passionate supporter, the side’s recent struggle has been a great source of frustration, but the right people are in charge at the club to turn the ship around and sail it toward a promotion tilt.
OTB — a proudly number-driven operation — has been crunching the numbers surrounding the Orangemen, both short-term statistics to analyse the current problems, as well as some of the club’s historical data.
Disclaimer — all data was taken from the SportsTG database which can be a touch unreliable, and FFA Cup and other competitive fixtures have not been considered with some data missing, but we push on undeterred.
The defensive elephant in the room
To say the Suns have a defensive problem is about as obvious as it gets — and when you really dig deeper into the numbers, it is a hard fact to face.
To finish in the top two of the second-tier of Victorian football in the past five seasons, on average, you need to concede 30 goals for the 28-game season.
The Suns have only ever got within 16 goals of this important mark — in the 2015 and 2016 seasons — and have already conceded nearly half that mark in just six games this campaign.
They are on pace to concede 65 goals for the season, something that must be addressed in the very near future.
Dating back to last season, the Suns have not kept a clean sheet in 12 competitive games, and if you want to do more than just simply exist as a club, you can’t be having that.
Who is the most capped Sun?
When you think durability in the Goulburn Valley Suns’ line-up, you think of solid full back Greg Nash, who leads the all-time appearance list with 107.
The only other Sun in the triple-figure club is centre back Jordan Montagner, who since joining the club in 2015 has always been a regular fixture, just one appearance behind Nash.
Craig Carley, the only foundation Sun still in the team, is closing in on the 100-mark of NPL appearances for the side, his stint away from the club at Hume City and Avondale the only thing costing him the all-time lead.
The ever-dependable Matt Lelliott sits level with Carley, while recently departed Sun Cody Sellwood rounds out the top five, with Jamie England sitting sixth.
The most alarming statistic about the five-year existence of the Suns is that 105 players have turned out for the senior side.
There are a number of factors for this — imports playing a season and not returning, many youth players getting a limited opportunity, players moving on to greener pastures as well as notorious transfer flops — but it speaks of a side still trying to find its identity heading into its sixth season.
Who has netted the most goals for the Suns?
Carley first and daylight second.
With 57 goals in 90 NPL appearances, the prolific striker has a huge cushion to second place, and will lead the Suns’ scoring rankings for some time.
With another eight FFA Cup goals, Carley, when he has been a Sun, has brought consistent goals — the area the club has never really struggled in.
But perusing further down the list reveals a worrying trend; no support for the club’s leading scorer.
Next best is central midfielder Jamie England with 15 goals in 81 games, level with genuine success story Shaun Kane with 15 in 54.
Rob Hughes, despite playing just one season with the Suns, sits equal fourth, having smashed home 12 goals in 25 games, while it is a similar story for Sean Ellis, who netted 12 goals in just 17 NPL games.
Who has the best goals per game ratio?
Liam Baxter’s half-season with the Suns certainly had it all — car crashes, red cards, but also goals.
In just six games he scored five goals, for a tidy ratio of 0.83 goals a game.
Ellis’ 12 in 17 rank him second with 0.71 goals a game, with Daniel Heffernan’s eight in 12 good for third at 0.673 a game.
But given his tenure and the amount of goals scored, Carley’s 0.63 a game certainly stands out.
Who has picked up the most yellow cards?
At the Suns’ end of season awards night they might as well name this award the Matty Lelliott Memorial Trophy, as the tenacious midfielder simply knows every possible way to get booked.
With a whopping 40 yellows in 90 games, Lelliott has topped that category in three of his four seasons at the club, before an impressive maiden campaign from Adam Gatcum saw him claim the yellow jersey with nine last campaign.
But just as impressive from Lelliott is how, despite so many bookings, he has somehow only been sent off once in 90 Suns games.
Hughes certainly made an impression in his lone season at the club with 10 yellows and a red in 25 games.
APPEARANCES
1. Greg Nash 107
2. Jordan Montagner 106
3. Craig Carley 90
3. Matthew Lelliott 90
5. Cody Sellwood 87
6. Jamie England 81
7. James Lelliott 58
8. Nick Kalafatis 57
9. Shaun Kane 54
9. Vani Shamoon 54
ALL-TIME TOP SCORERS
1. Craig Carley 57
2. Shaun Kane 15
2. Jamie England 15
4. Sean Ellis 12
4. Rob Hughes 12
6. Billy Marshall 11
6. Cody Sellwood 11
8. Alou Kuol 9
9. Daniel Heffernan 8
9. Stefan Papageorgious 8
9. Vani Shamoon 8
SUNS’ DEFENSIVE WOES
Goals conceded by season
2014 75
2015 46
2016 46
2017 53
2018 55
2019 14 in six games (projected — 65)
YELLOW CARDS
1. Matt Lelliott 40
2. Craig Carley 21
3. Jamie England 15
4. Nick Kalafatis 13
5. Greg Nash 12
5. Jordan Montagner 12