With three rounds remaining, the South Melbourne Hellas Under-12 junior team has secured the championship in their division.
Having already established an unassailable twelve point lead and a vastly superior goal difference, the Super League awaits them next year.
This is the third year in a row that the youngsters have clinched top spot.
At the helm for the last three years has been, Ange Dallas, who was also appointed director of football at South Melbourne last year.
The coach is delighted with the team’s performance as many observers at the start of the season dubbed this division as “the group of death”.
Presently only three points separate the next five teams, with only the top four qualifying for the Super League next year.
Success is no stranger to Ange.
Two years ago the team reached the semi-finals in the Gold Coast Cup.
Last year they clinched the Kanga Cup, a prestigious national junior football competition held in Canberra every winter.
This year the team is off to England for two weeks.
They will be spending some time at the David Beckham academy and playing a series of friendly matches against other junior teams.
Ange himself is a former South Melbourne junior and played in the reserves before trying his luck in England, where a crippling injury cut short his career. His goal is to take this group of talented youngsters right through to senior level.
“If a handful of players reach professional ranks, it will give me the biggest joy.”
2010 is turning out to be another successful year for South Melbourne’s juniors.
Presently with three rounds remaining, almost all of its teams from under-10 to under-18 are vying for either first or second spot, an excellent way to commemorate the club’s fiftieth anniversary year.