Round six of the Victorian Premier League will start with the much anticipated 2012 Grand Final rematch tonight, when Oakleigh Cannons welcomed Dandenong Thunder on their ground, with a former Hyundai A-League coach Miron Bleiberg as their interim coach.

With their third in a row round five win against Hume City last weekend (4-0), Dandenong Thunder had bounced back after a not so good start to the season. Oakleigh Cannons stayed unbeaten in last three matches, and played draw with high flying Bentleigh Greens last Friday (1-1).

Promoted Pascoe Vale had a hard task last night welcoming Bentleigh Greens, after their first ever 2013 VPL win away from home, last weekend against Southern Stars (3-1).

Round six of Victorian Premier League will see Hume City host South Melbourne on Sunday. Hume City will try to return to form when it faces Peter Tsolakis’ boys, who have carved out four wins out of five matches so far.

After last weekend’s ‘stolen’ win in a second half, against last on the ladder Richmond (3-2), it looks like this season South Melbourne is playing at the level expected from them for a few years.

After five rounds, Northcote City are the surprise leaders of 2013 Victorian Premier League, having not dropped a point and building a three point gap with the second placed South Melbourne.

Northcote city continued their dream start to the 2013 season, with a comfortable 2-0 win to Port Melbourne Sharks away from home last Friday night.

“The atmosphere in the team is fantastic at the moment; having a start like we had – which we probably didn’t expect – has made us a lot more ambitious and a hungrier for success,” club president Peter Kotsiris told Neos Kosmos.

And with the results Hercules boys had so far – their confidence is growing with each win.

“It’s not a fluke; boys work very hard during the preseason and obviously with Goran Lozanovski the fitness has improved. There is no secret, it’s just a hard work. You get out of the match with what you put in the training,” Kotsiris said.

Sunday, Northcote City will look to continue its best ever start to a Victorian Premier League season, when it hosts Green Gully Cavaliers, ten on the ladder with only a single win to its name. The local derby between Green Gully Cavaliers and Melbourne Knights in round five ended in a draw (1-1), after the Cavaliers held the lead for only one minute.

“It has been for us absolutely the best start we had in VPL season. Having said that, we have a difficult game to come. Green Gully is probably the most successful club in Victoria, in the last ten years. They are a very proud club, and they would be very disappointed with where they are on the ladder at the moment. They’ve got a lot of experienced players, and I am sure they will be looking to kick start their season by trying to beat us. It will be a tough game, but hopefully we can pull out another win,” Northcote president was confident.

At the early stage of the competition and Northcote’s successful start, it is hard to predict who will be the first to celebrate a win against tough Goran Lozanovski squad.

Newly promoted Port Melbourne will travel to Richmond at their Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Sunday. Despite round five loss to leading Northcote City (0-2), Sharks are playing well, while Richmond desperately need points.

Melbourne Knights will play against winless Southern Stars at their stadium on Sunday. Andrew Marth’s men, who keep a fifth position on the ladder, are favourites in this encounter, as Southern Stars continue its poor form with round five loss to the newly promoted Pascoe Vale.

VPL Round Six:
Oakleigh Cannons v Dandenong Thunder
Fri 8:30pm, Jack Edwards Reserve
9th v 5th

Pascoe Vale v Bentleigh Greens
Fri 8:30pm, Hosken Reserve
7th v 3rd

Hume City v South Melbourne
Sun 3 pm, Broadmeadows Valley Park
8th v 2nd

Northcote City v Green Gully Cavaliers
Sun 3 pm, John Cain Memorial Park
1st v 10th

Melbourne Knights v Southern Stars
Sun 3 pm, Knights Stadium
4th v 11th

Richmond v Port Melbourne Sharks
Sun 7 pm, Kevin Bartlett Reserve
12th v 6th