Monaro Panthers FC

Coordinates: 35°20′53″S 149°14′15″E / 35.34806°S 149.23750°E / -35.34806; 149.23750
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Monaro Panthers FC
Full nameMonaro Panthers Football Club
Nickname(s)Panthers
Founded1967
GroundRiverside Oval, Queanbeyan
Coordinates35°20′53″S 149°14′15″E / 35.34806°S 149.23750°E / -35.34806; 149.23750
LeagueNPL Capital Football
20235th of 8
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Monaro Panthers FC (formerly known as Inter Monaro SC) is an Australian soccer club based in the city of Queanbeyan, New South Wales. The club was founded in 1967, and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Capital Football in the Australian Capital Territory.

Monaro Panthers is a club that represents and caters for the Monaro regional area as a whole including Queanbeyan, Jerrabomberra, Canberra, Googong, Bungendore, Sutton, Michelago and the South Coast of NSW. The club fields teams in both men's and women's from the elite NPL level and recreational seniors to juniors and mini roos.

History[edit]

Foundation and early years[edit]

Monaro was established in 1967 as Inter Monaro Soccer Club.[1] The club first competed in the ACT league Division 1 (top division) between 1968 and 1977 before moving to the New South Wales (NSW) system in 1978 where the club played until they won the NSW Division one (top division) title in 1984.[2] In 1985 the club were accepted into the National Soccer League.

Inter enjoyed early success in the ACT with the club winning its first trophy in its first season. Monaro lifted the end of season 1968 top four round-robin trophy as a second tier side after beating Olympic (now Canberra Olympic) 1–0 in the final. Inter reached the final after a 1–0 victory over Croatia Deakin (now Canberra FC) in the quarter-finals and a 2–1 victory over Juventus in the semi-finals.[3][4]

Monaro backed up this success in 1976 when they once again won the Federation Cup tournament with wins over Canberra United, 6–2, West Woden Juventus, 1–0, leading the club to a final showdown with Downer Olympic on 29 August 1976. Inter Monaro despatched Downer 3–1 in the final to claim the title for the first time in the club's short history.[5]

1977 was Inters most successful season in its history. Not only did Monaro successfully defend its Federation Cup title, it additionally won both the league Premiership and finals Championship titles too, giving the club its first 'treble'. Inter won the league title in 1977 by five points over West Woden Juventus in the fourteen-game season. Monaro finished the season with the equal best attack (60 goals scored) and the best defence (13 goals conceded). Inter then met West Woden twice in the finals in the semi-final and the grand final. On both occasions Monaro secured 3–2 victories.[6] Inter kicked off its Fed Cup defence in 1977 with a 10–0 victory over O'Connor before beating Canberra United 3–0 in the qualifier final to reach the final on 4 September 1977. Monaro again faced off against Canberra United, who had beaten Croatia Deakin to reach the final, where the Premiers and Champions overcame the opposition put up from United to claim a 2–1 victory.[7]

National Soccer League and decline[edit]

After winning New South Wales Division 1 in 1984, Inter Monaro entered the NSL for the 1985 season, replacing Melita Eagles in the Northern Conference. In Monaro's first season they finished 7th in the Northern Conference, two points outside of a finals position and one place below local rivals Canberra City who finished 6th.[8] In 1985 National League Cup (NSL Cup), Inter defeated West Woden Juventus 9–1 in the first round before being eliminated in the second round by Canberra City 1–0.[9]

The second season in the NSL in 1986 was less successful. In the 1986 National League Cup, Inter Monaro were eliminated by Canberra City once again, losing this time 2–1 in the first round.[10] Inter finished bottom of the league table with only three wins from 22 games, and a restructure of the national competition for the 1987 season cutting back to 13 teams saw the club relegated back to the NSW First Division.[11]

After getting relegated from the NSL in the club's second season, Monaro returned to the NSW Division One for four seasons between 1987 and 1990.[2] Inter were not able to keep up with previous success and after a disappointing 1990 season where the club only collected six points and two wins, they finished 2nd last in the league (beating only Marconi Fairfield). Inter Monaro subsequently did not enter in a team in 1991 and effectively ceased to exist.[12][13]

Re-establishment[edit]

In 1995 the club was re-established under a new name, Monaro Panthers Football Club.[1] The club went back to its roots and applied and was granted entry into the ACT Premier League in 1996.[14] The club has participated in the ACT league system since this date. A key figure to the re-establishment of the club was the future Deputy Premier of New South Wales John Barilaro, who went on to serve as president of the club for eight years.[15]

The Panthers won the ACT Premier League Championship title in 1999 with a 1–0 victory over the Capital City Suns in the grand final. Monaro had qualified for the Championship finals after finishing third in the league behind Capital City Suns and Weston Creek Royals. In the semi-final the team from Queanbyan overcame Weston Creek to reach the grand final.[16]

In 2008, Monaro signed an Australian first agreement with South Korean football primary school SinGok from the east Busan district of Haeundae New Town. The agreement means Panther's members host SinGok club players, coaches and officials during the annual youth football tournament The Kanga Cup, held in Canberra every year. In exchange Monaro would gain professional coaching advice and potential links to South Korean talent.[17] Monaro were also invited by SinGok to participate in the 2008 MBC International Youth Tournament in Korea.[1] John Barilaro, Amelia Efkarpidis and Nadia Colbertaldo were the intramental Panther figures who designed and signed off on the agreement.[18]

National Premier League Era[edit]

2013, the Monaro Panthers joined the top clubs in the ACT and surrounding NSW region as a founding member of the NPL Capital Football, which replaced the ACT Premier League as the top division of club football in Canberra.[19][20]

10 October 2014, Monaro was one of four clubs to be granted a premier licence by Capital Football to compete in the NPL competitions for three years for men, women and juniors. The licence was set to commence in 2015.[21]

2 April 2017, Monaro Panthers celebrated its fifty-year anniversary with the opening round of the 2017 NPLCF season against Canberra Olympic at Riverside Stadium.[22] The Panthers went down 1–3 in the final result of the match.[23]

Club identity[edit]

Inter Monaro SC original crest used between 1967 and 1991
Monaro Panthers FC crest used between 1995 and 2016
Monaro Panthers FC 50-year crest used in 2017

Colours and crest[edit]

The Panther's primary colours are green and black. Over the course of the club's history the shade of green has changed from kit to kit. On the home kit the colours are represented in vertical stripes. White is used as an alternative colour, mainly for away kits. The club's crest consists of a black panther clutching a football with one paw and the club's name underneath in green. The club's original crest was a traditional shield with the bottom half showcasing a football a top of black and green stripe background. The top half of the crest has the club's original name of Inter Monaro Soccer Club in black atop a yellow background. Above the team name, the very top of the shield is broken into the tri colours of the Italian national flag, representing the club's heritage.

In 2017, Monaro released a fifty-year anniversary crest. The crest draw inspiration from both the original and modern crests. In the traditional shield the club retained the black and green stripes for the bottom half. It added the number 50, a small black panther and the dates 1967 and 2017. The top half of the crest had the current club name of Monaro Panthers Football Club atop a black background.

Club name[edit]

The club was established in 1967 as Inter Monaro Soccer Club by the local Italian community of Queanbeyan. Inter represented the Italian heritage and Monaro was chosen because the city of Queanbeyan was in the electorate of Eden Monaro. The club retained its original name until folding in 1991. In 1995 the club was re-established with a new name, Monaro Panthers Football Club.[22] In 2022 the club claimed the Charity Shield with a 7-1 success over Tigers FC and then won the Federation Cup, which doubled as the Australia Cup Qualifying Final in Canberra, defeating West Canberra Wanderers 3-1 after extra-time. Andre Carle equalised with the last kick of the match, after coming on as a substitute, before Darren Bailey and Carle, from the penalty spot, sealed the win in extra-time.

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

As of 8 June 2022[24]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Jordan Thurtell
2 DF Australia AUS Adam De Franceschi
3 DF Australia AUS David Jenkins
4 DF Australia AUS James Wilson
5 DF Scotland SCO Darren Bailey
6 MF Australia AUS Gabriel Cole
7 FW Greece GRE Nikos Kalfas
9 FW Australia AUS Andre Carle
10 MF Albania ALB Amilio Kista
11 MF Australia AUS Adam Neou
12 FW Australia AUS Sebastian Woods
14 DF Australia AUS Michael Pochi
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 FW Australia AUS Mitchell Jervis-Hamilton
16 DF Australia AUS Kyle Senior
17 MF Australia AUS Ben Basser-Silk
18 GK Australia AUS Evan Keeble
19 MF Australia AUS Patrick Mitchell
20 FW Australia AUS Jai Selden
21 DF Australia AUS Jordan Cachia
22 GK Australia AUS Gerion Mehmetaj
23 FW Australia AUS Kofi Danning
24 DF Australia AUS Tom Robertson
91 MF Australia AUS Zac McLaren
99 DF Australia AUS Josh Calabria

Coaching staff[edit]

Senior Monaro Panthers NPL men's team staff for the 2022 Capital Football season.

As of 8 June 2022[25]
  • Men's Head Coach: Frank Cachia
  • Assistant coach: Ian Worthington
  • Assistant coach: Matt Cachia

Honours[edit]

Season-by-season results[edit]

The below table is updated with the statistics and final results for Monaro Panthers following the conclusion of each National Premier League Capital Football season.

Champions Runners-up Third place
Monaro Panthers FC Season-by-Season Results
Ref Season National Premier League ACT NPL
Finals 		Fed
Cup 		FFA
Cup 		Top scorer
GP W D L GF GA GD PTS League Finals Name Goals
[26] 2013 23 6 1 16 30 78 −48 19 8th – – 3R – Pepe Varga 10
[27] 2014 16 4 2 10 26 59 −33 14 8th – – 2R – Thomas James 5
[28] 2015 16 2 2 12 19 48 −29 8 8th – – QF – Mark Shields 16
[29] 2016 18 4 2 12 22 49 −27 14 9th – – 2R – Edward Mccarthy 4
[30] 2017 18 1 2 15 11 62 −51 5 10th – – SF – Joakim Moussinga 4
[31] 2018 16 1 3 12 17 46 −29 6 9th – – QF – Samuel Smith 8
[32] 2019 16 6 2 8 31 33 -2 20 7th – – R2 – Joshua Gulevski 14
[33] 2020 7 1 2 4 7 12 -5 5 8th – – – – Samuel Smith 3
[34] 2021 17 7 4 6 28 28 0 25 4th – – F – Stephen Domenici 15

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Club History". monaropanthers.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b Persoglia, Tony. "Inter Monaro". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  3. ^ "Federation Cup 1968". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. ^ "A.C.T. Cup Winners". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Federation Cup 1976". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  6. ^ "ACT Division One 1977". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Federation Cup 1977". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  8. ^ "1985 National Soccer League CHAMPIONSHIP". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Australia " NSL Cup 1985 " Schedule". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Australia " NSL Cup 1986 " Schedule". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  11. ^ "1986 end of season Table". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  12. ^ "1990 NSW Division One final table". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  13. ^ "1991 NSW Division One final table". ozfootball.net. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  14. ^ "ACT Premier League 1996". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  15. ^ Green, Antony. "Monaro (Key Seat)". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  16. ^ "ACT Premier League 1999". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  17. ^ Davey, Todd (14 July 2012). "SinGok's success delights Panthers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  18. ^ Matic, Joshua (10 July 2014). "Monaro Panthers use unique Korean partnership to prosper". The Queanbeyan Age. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  19. ^ "FFA launch National Premier League for semi-professional state-based competitions across the country". Fox Sports Australia. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  20. ^ "National Premier League – Capital Football 2013". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  21. ^ Wilson, Chris (10 October 2014). "Canberra City cut as Gungahlin United promoted to Canberra's National Premier League". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  22. ^ a b Tiernan, Eamonn (31 March 2017). "Monaro Panthers celebrate 50th anniversary in NPLCF season opener". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Monaro Panthers vs Canberra Olympic Match Centre". sportstg.com. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  24. ^ "Monaro Panthers". capitalfootball.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  25. ^ "Our Coaching Team". monaropanthers.com.au. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  26. ^ "2013 NPL Capital Football Ladder". socceraust.co.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  27. ^ "2014 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  28. ^ "2015 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  29. ^ "2016 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  30. ^ "2017 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  31. ^ "2018 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  32. ^ "2019 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  33. ^ "2020 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  34. ^ "2021 NPL Capital Football Ladder". sportstg.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.

External links[edit]

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