www.goalweekly.com $3 INSIDE THIS WEEK... GW EXCLUSIVE: DRUGS & CASH IN THE VPL FOOTBALL FEATURE ON JASON NAIDOVSKI Season 4: Issue 5 Monday 10th March 2008 FOOTBALL FOCUS ON Supporting all colours and reporting in black and white CANNONS’ STELIOS DRAKOS NEVER DIE KNIGHTS! PLUS► ALL THE LATEST FOXTEL CUP ACTION, BLAST FROM THE PAST, WIN ANOTHER PAIR OF PUMA BOOTS & MORE! Goal! Weekly 23 Photo: Nome Risteski GET REAL. GET SOME BALLS. GET SOME Front row (left to right): Frank Catalano, Steven Masalkovski, Ricky Chillico, Marinos Gasparis, Blaze Georgievski Back row (left to right): Tony Sterjovski, Lou Acevski, Nicholas Schwal, Vince Pittito, Nick Lazarevski, Les Anastasiou. GOAL! WEEKLY Nike Australia sponsors the Socceroos & Matildas Nike is the offi cial ball of the A-League EVERY MONDAY. Nike has a range of football strips and balls available for juniors & seniors Ask your local Nike stockist for details PRESTON LIONS FC PO Box 142 HOW TO ORDER Port Melbourne 3207 To find out your nearest p (03) 9645 1440 Nike Team Wear Dealer call e [email protected] www.goalweekly.com 1300 656 453 Orders not available from Nike direct to public and must go through a registered Nike Stockist. Issue # 5 Monday 10 March 2008 Goal! Weekly SOCCERSOCCER HOTLINESHOTLINES 3 By Craig MacKenzie OPEN SLATHER ON DRUGS This week’s line-up Soccer Hotlines 3 Great policy, but no police #1 Foxtel Cup Scoreboard 4 There is no drug testing of ASADA only receives federal Victorian players and unless government funding to conduct Cannons v South 5 Football Federation Victoria 4200 tests a year across all sports AIS v Coburg 6 can fi nd funding there is and given the number of athletes unlikely to be in spite of our in competition in Australia, Lions v Bergers 7 ruling body embracing the the testing body is often forced Suburbs v Magic 8 extensive and World Anti- to concentrate on testing elite Doping Agency-approved athletes. Knights v Zebras 10 anti-doping policy of Football The FFA doping policy does not Football Feature 11 Federation Australia. just cover contracted players, it FFV, as an umbrella organisation covers every registered player in Gully v Pines 12 of FFA, is a signatory to its anti- the land. Blues v Eagles 13 doping policy but the Australian A phone poll of six Foxtel Cup Sports and Drug Administration coaches conducted late last Football Focus 14 which conducts testing of week confi rmed that none of Boo & Katsa 15 athletes has a user-pays contract them could recall an anti-doping with FFA. test being conducted and all Interstate Football 18 Until now the prohibitive cost of expressed surprise that no testing Win a pair of Puma boots 20 testing has turned the lauded FFA took place. Ebeneezer Goode, ebeneezer no good: doping policy into a toothless There is confusion in Drug cheats can happily carry about their business with the Blast From The Past 21 tiger and if there are drug cheats administrative circles about knowledge that there is no actual drug testing conducted in Tartan Talk 22 (including recreational drug the cost of testing, one football users) among Victorian players administrator saying that he accordance with the FFA’s anti-doping policy. they continue to fl aunt the rules believed that a single test costs Goal! Weekly is published every Monday by tested at national championships, think that we could afford to fund Alimental Enterprises Pty Ltd unchecked. Here, in part, is what around $2000. However, an which would only enhance the random testing during the Foxtel PO Box 142 Article 1 of the FFA policy says: ASADA spokesperson confi rmed embarrassing nature of a policy Cup fi nals series. As I write the Port Melbourne, VIC, 3207 ‘FFA aims to stop doping to Goal! Weekly last week that that remains incapable of being sad truth is that we can’t. Phone: 9645-1440 practices in football by: (a) half-screen out-of-competition policed at senior level. Players who are party animals Printed by educating and informing tests cost $587 and full-screen If only someone could come can rest easy if they restrict their Streamline Press persons about drugs in football in-competition tests costs just up with around $5000 then an splurge to alcohol. WADA’s 155 Johstone St issues; (b) supporting the drug over $700. Fitzroy, VIC, 3065 ASADA ‘hit-and-run’ testing prohibitive substances list states testing programs and education Should ASADA see fi t to spend raid on three players each that alcohol is only banned in Distributed by initiatives of ASADA and other some federal government from competing clubs, say in competition in eight sports and All Day Distribution Pty Ltd anti-doping organisations; and money (or FFA foots the bill) the Foxtel Cup, would send football is not one of them. PO Box 42 (c) imposing effective sanctions it’s possible that members of a North Carlton, VIC, 3054 shockwaves among players who Fortunately for spectators and on persons who commit anti- Victorian junior representative cheat. offi cials, archery is on that News Room: (03) 9645-1440 doping rule violations.’ squad could be randomly At the very least you’d WADA list. Advertising: (03) 9645-1440 [email protected] [email protected] www.goalweekly.com OPEN SLATHER ON WAGES Editor: Costa Koutropoulos Art Director: Carlos Ibarra Great policy, but no police #2 Production: Gagandeep Singh, MJ Ali. There used to be a salary cap in FFV could not afford to properly Contributors: the Victorian Premier League. police the policy. Nat Adamopoulos, Mark Boric, Richard Bartolo, Adrian Ceddia, Bruce Darnell, George Egonidis, Prior to being scrapped by the “If I’d had another $300,000 or Andrew Fisher, Jason Gillick, Steven Gray, FFV board late last year it had $400,000 then maybe the policy Roy Hay, Markian Jaworsky, Paul Jefferies, been raised from $150,000 to could have been retained,” said George Katsamboukas, Eddie Krncevic, $180,000. FFV CEO Mark Rendell. John Kyrou, Sebastian Kipman, George Kouroumalis, Michael Lilikakis, That’s right, all those big- “It became clear that it was a Josip Loncaric, Craig MacKenzie, Nino Napoli, spending Foxtel Cup clubs had a waste of time having a policy Joe Novella,Jeremy O’Neil, Teo Pellizzeri, total player payment bill of just that could not be administered Chris Priftis, Walter Pless, Mike Salter, $180,000 in 2007. And the band properly.” George Stogiannou, Reuben Schembri, Richard Sucksmith,Lachlan Taylor, played ‘Believe it if you like’. Sadly, through no fault of the Nick Townsend, Elias Simopoulos, The truth of the matter is that federation, the fl oodgates are Michal Skrodsky, Addy Wetzler, Bruno Zovko, player payments regularly open once more and clubs like exceeded the salary cap. One Green Gully with its massive Photographers: Kingston City’s time in the VPL was a trypical example of how a club had player payments well poker machine revenue will Daniel Flis, Darryl Kennedy, club can fl aunt the salary cap rules in its quest for success. John Punshon, Steve Starek. above the $600,000 mark, a continue to thrive in such a Therese Duffy, George Stogiannou. $420,000 breach of the salary laissez faire environment. clubs using the second option is as $600 a game. For some First Goal! Weekly endeavours to be cap. It’s now glaringly obvious that First Division outfi t Southern Division rivals that is very hard as accurate as possible with Apparently, it worked like this. there are two ways that ambitious Stars which has a successful car- to compete with when trying to everything it publishes. Contracts for fi rst team squad clubs can best compete with washing business. entice players. And for clubs in members were lodged at FFV the big boys. One is to have an A recent recruit to a First the lower leagues who dream The Fair Trading Act 1999 requires Goal! Weekly to headquarters where they were extremely wealthy benefactor Division club will be paid $500 about one day mixing it with the disclaim any belief in the truth or falsity of added up and if the total did not (or benefactors), the other is to a game this season and there elite, it makes that day seems information which is supplied to it and exceed $180,000 then that was have a club-owned business that were clubs in First Division last light years away. which is published in other than editorial content. the end of the matter. Simply put, generates serious dollars. Among season who were paying as much Authentic EPL Strips - Accessories - Balls - Team Apparel - Complete Soccer Gear 69 Victoria Parade Collingwood 3066 Tel: 9415 6925 / 9415 6926 Monday 10 March 2008 4 FOXTEL CUP Goal! Weekly Scoreboard FOXTEL CUP STANDINGS ROUND FIVE FIXTURES Richmond v Melbourne Knights Kevin Bartlett Reserve Fri 29 Feb KO 8:15PM Frankston Pines v Preston Lions Monterey Reserve Sat 1 Mar KO 6:00PM Coburg Utd v Oakleigh Cannons Knights Stadium Sat 1 Mar KO 6:00PM Heidelberg Utd v A.I.S Olympic Village Sun 2 Mar KO 5:00PM Fawkner Blues v Altona Magic CB Smith Reserve Sun 2 Mar KO 6:00PM P W D L F A PTS RICHMOND EAGLES Richmond 4 3 1 0 14 3 10 V A.I.S 4 3 1 0 11 5 10 ALTONA MAGIC Melbourne Knights 4 2 2 0 8 4 8 Kevin Bartlett Reserve Altona Magic 4 2 2 0 6 3 8 Friday 14 March KO 8:15PM Oakleigh Cannons 4 2 2 0 4 2 8 Coburg Utd 4 2 1 1 7 4 7 OAKLEIGH CANNONS Green Gully Cavaliers 4 2 1 1 2 2 7 V WESTERN SUBURBS Heidelberg Utd 4 1 2 1 4 4 5 Jack Edwards Reserve Preston Lions 4 1 2 1 5 8 5 Friday 14 March South Melbourne 4 1 0 3 7 5 3 KO 8:30PM Western Suburbs 4 1 0 3 1 10 3 COBURG UTD Frankston Pines 4 0 1 3 4 7 1 V Whittlesea Zebras 4 0 1 3 3 9 1 PRESTON LIONS Fawkner Blues 4 0 0 4 2 12 0 Knights Stadium Saturday