We'll now be officially without O'Donovan for 8 games of the league season. Ridiculous. Might as well give us a points deduction. 

Lions deserved more. Very poor form Isiais. Hopefully we don't get this Latin America crap infiltrate our league. 

Heidelberg has been killing it in the FFA cup. i certainly wouldnt want to play them next round

NPL sides holding their own more and more each season.

When is the draw?

only a matter of time now, and when all the NPL sides figure out the A-league teams, expect them to go all bright eyed and bushy tail. we know its coming

I have to laugh at people as well saying where is all the players going to come from if we expand the league, there is no talent in the npl etc etc, what a load of shit.
Time and time again these teams have shown they can compete with the A-League teams, even though they are part time, just imagine if they were full time. 

Bentleigh v Heidelberg could be played twice within a week, cup quarters and maybe grand final.

Can you post the full QF fixture list?

i hear ya. Clubs like Heidelberg, Bentleigh Greens, and APIA Leichhardt Tigers will come at us because they'll know what we're about and what to expect.

Bring on expansion and P&R.

The crowd at Marconi looked immense. Medium sized crowds at medium dized venues look crazy. 

Melbourne City vs Western Sydney Wanderers
Bentleigh Greens vs Heidelberg United
APIA Leichhardt Tigers vs Adelaide United
Avondale FC vs Sydney FC

Definitely think APIA could win, Sydney probably too good for Avondale, Heidelberg and Bentleigh should be a cracker!

5107 at Marconi. 

From the brief glimpse I got, have they done any refurbishment of the stands? Ground looked in good nick.

i just saw the VIC NPL ladder and noticed 3 of the NPL clubs are above 50 points. and its also no coincidence all 3 sides are still alive in the FFA cup.

jesus we are seeing the best of victoria in this ffa cup. 

My Picks

Bentleigh and Heidelberg go to extra time

Sydney vs Melb City Final

crowds from the R16

Avondale FC	Devonport	ABD Stadium	1200
Broadmeadow Magic	Bentleigh Greens	Magic Park	1628
Cairns FC	Sydney FC	Barlow Park	3950
APIA Leichhardt	Melbourne Victory	Leichhardt Oval	2467
Queensland Lions	Adelaide United	Perry Park	1774
Adelaide Comets	Heidelberg United	West Beach Parks Football Centre	1482
Melbourne City	Newcastle United	MRS	3673
Bonnyrigg White Eagles	WSW	Marconi Stadium	5107

The average for all matches in R32 and R16 is 2,101. It's the 4th highest average out of the 5 cups to date, but only 1 below 3rd (2016, average 2102)

I had no idea how much of a joke the prize money from the cup is....

Prize fund

The prize fund is unchanged from the previous two years events.

Round	No. of Clubs receive fund	Prize fund
Round of 16	8	$2,000
Quarter-finalists	4	$5,000
Semi-finalists	2	$10,000
Final runners-up	1	$25,000
Final winner	1	$50,000
Total		$131,000

In addition, a further $2,500 was awarded from sponsor NAB to Member Federation clubs for each goal scored by them against an A-League opposition. Clubs to receive these prizes are APIA ($7,500), Hellenic Athletic ($7,500), Rockdale City ($5,000), Bentleigh Greens ($2,500),Bonnyrig White Eagles ($2,500) and Cairns FC ($2,500).

So APIA have earned the most so far, $12,500. That wouldnt even cover a single starting xi player's season wage!



WHAT IT SHOULD BE

Prize fund

Round	No. of Clubs receive fund	Prize fund
Round of 16	8	$20,000
Quarter-finalists	4	$60,000
Semi-finalists	2	$150,000
Final runners-up	1	$300,000
Final winner	1	$500,000
Total		$1,500,000

With no goal bonus

Why why why do Fox keep using him? Brisbane's a big place I'm sure there are others there that can sit on the sidelines and interview players (which is what he does during the A-League season).

We were rubbish tonight but oh well, onto the next one.

Heidelberg United have a very very busy September coming up.

September 2 home vs Avondale FC at Olympic Village (NPL VIC round 26)
September 8 away vs Devonport Strikers at Valley Road (NPL national elimination final)
September 14 home vs Pascoe Vale/Oakleigh Cannons/6th place team at Olympic Village (NPL VIC semi final
September 18* home or away vs Edgeworth Eagles/Lions FC (if Heidelberg United beat Devonport Strikers - NPL national semi final)
September 23* NPL VIC G/F (if Heidelberg United win NPL VIC semi final)
September 25/26 away vs Bentleigh Greens at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex (FFA Cup quarter final)
September 29/30* home or away vs Sydney Olympic/Perth SC/Campbelltown City/Canberra FC (if Heidelberg United beat Devonport Strikers & Edgeworth Eagles/Lions FC - NPL national Grand Final) 

Isaiah is a little sh1t. He did the same thing to multiple Wanderers players in the Grandfinal a few years ago and Gillett left him get away with it.

The obvious question there is who's going to pay for that?

Fox Sport's coverage is pretty much an act of charity for the ratings they get, and the Lowys took their ball and went home, pulling their Westfield sponsorship.

Bigger workload than A-League teams.

huh

Prize money is crap which is why every npl team wants to draw an A league team..ideally a derby matchup. If you have your home ground up to scratch you're laughing with ticket and food sales.

Heidelbergs 2015 cup run netted them a profit of over half a million..they have been a powerhouse ever since. They almost packed it in at the end of 2012 when they were relegated from npl and look at em now. Bentleigh werent much chop prior to the commencement of the cup either but the tournament has allowed them to bring crowds in and make profits they wouldnt normally dream of.

True.

They are playing HAL clubs being flogged in pre-season training though.

only 5k for BWE and WSW, i gotta say that is on the disappointing side lol

Cup Magic!

Looked a lot more tbf. Great atmosphere on telly.

Marconi only has 8k seating with 11.5k total.
http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=67

If they packed the camera end, it would look solid. 

Aha