THIRTY YEARS ON: A tribute to Melville's 1995 champion northern premier league team of gym specimens, Sambuca-drinking party boys and the best-looking barmen in town

In 1995 Melville AFC (forerunner to Melville United, formed in 1996) won the northern premier league for the first time. To mark the occasion, let's take a long slow stroll down Memory Lane...

Back row, from left: Graham Jones, Paul Marflitt, Neil Mouncher, Darryl Ward, Nigel Morgan. Middle: Gavin D'Souza (Physio), Stuart Timings, Wayne Barton, Andrew McAllister, Matthew Perry, Brian Coe (President). Front: Neil Newport (Equipment Manager), Ronald Kardas, Sigi Kerbers, Steve Williams (Coach), Greg Larsen (captain), Dominic Rogerson, Steve Owens (Manager). Absent: Gordon Jon Thompson, Paul Thompson, Paul Wilkinson, Richard Kardas, Jason Stone.

DEEP in the winter of 1995 Melville AFC football coach Steve Williams was a frustrated man as his second-placed team chased its maiden northern premier league title, seven points adrift of leaders Metro.

In heartfelt late-night comments dutifully recorded that July by a try-hard Waikato Times reporter infamous for his lack of discretion, Williams unloaded on how he had players who could drink Sambuca through their nose.

“And that’s after we’ve been beaten.”

With the tape recorder running hot, Williams lamented how he had ended up with a squad full of gym specimens, party boys and "some of the best-looking barmen in town".

He proceeded to ruminate on whether this lively but sometimes-disjointed bunch had enough of "the want factor" to bridge the gulf and become football champions in such a competitive league.

Williams confided how, as coach, he would have much preferred "old-fashioned players with heart, attitude and character" rather than these shallow, superficial "Generation Xers".

"I do wonder what motivates some of my players," Williams complained. "The big thing in their lives seems to be to look good and attract girls."

STEVE WILLIAMS,1995

It was an extraordinary outburst, made even more topical by being published on the eve of a critical home game against a Metro team which was on a 47-match unbeaten run.

But as it turned out, it did no harm, and his party boys did have "the want factor". Because Williams' Te Rapa Tavern-sponsored team duly won 2-0 and proceeded to surge forward and ultimately take the northern premier league by five points, capping a meteoric rise for a back-blocks club that had been in the northern league third division just five years earlier.

And Williams' rant was completely understandable for anyone who had followed Melville during a never-boring season.

For most of the winter of '95 it had been hard to know what to make of Melville. Yes, they had some decent players, many with national league experience, and were well-drilled, but also seemed clearly short of being the complete package.

Even after 10 victories in 14 matches (when Williams vented his spleen), they somehow lacked a winner's swagger.

Too often victories came in spite of the way they played, rather than because of it. Nevertheless, they had a habit of usually getting the job done with a particularly quick and aggressive forward line and an uncompromising defence.

In retrospect, the things that most annoyed Williams about his players were what ultimately got Melville over the line.

Because team spirit - a very firm squad bond built around a strong if rather boozy social vibe - associated with an ultra-aggressive approach were perhaps Melville's most vital and durable characteristics.

Williams, for those old enough to remember, had himself been one of the best-looking party boys around Hamilton in the late 1970s and 1980s - and as coach in 1995, to the casual observer, it appeared like he had unwittingly built a team in his own image.

In an era when athlete nutrition was not even a vague rumour at this level, and alcohol was consumed more by the barrel than the bottle, Williams would fine his players if they weren't in the clubrooms having a pint after training. (Drivers were limited to three pints.)

Meanwhile the training sessions themselves could by hyper-aggressive, with Williams encouraging an almost gladiatorial approach by his players under lights in the mud at Gower. In such an atmosphere, the Melville lads were quite happy to gang up and kick the shit out of any mid-season new signings Williams sought to bring on board, let alone players from other clubs.

But somehow it all worked. In a remarkable coaching run in which he had taken Melville from northern league third division winners in 1991 to northern premier league titleholders in 1995 (after having been Melville first-team captain in 1990) Williams turned his gym specimens, barmen and party boys into champions.

Thirty years on, Greg Larsen, the skipper of the Class of 1995, credited Williams' ability to build such an infectious team atmosphere and sense of belonging as his singular strength as gaffer.

"Steve was very good at creating a team environment, even if sometimes we would do some pretty weird stuff at training," Larsen said.

"At times the physical contact was more like you'd get at Warriors training. But we had players who could run for 90 minutes and we had pace."

"And being in the clubrooms afterwards was important to the team culture. Nobody was worried about diets or alcohol intake."

Certainly not Larsen - known to all as Weasel - who went on to win the northern premier golden boot that year with 14 goals.

"All teams were aggressive and the game was very physical, which suited me. Some of the match-ups with opposition players were legendary and you really looked forward to them.

"Our side was okay, but there were better teams in the league and better football players, but we did really gel the most of any group of players I ever played with. I made lifelong friends that year with the likes of Nigel Morgan, Gordon Jon Thompson and Paul Thompson."

GREG LARSEN: SKIPPER

Other key squad members were keeper Neil Mouncher, Darryl Ward, Graham Jones, Sigi Kerbers, Richard Kardas, Andrew McAllister, Dominic Rogerson, Mark Willson, Ronnie Kardas, and Matt Perry.

Ageing stalwart Stu Timings was something of a supersub who could score off the bench, while more on the fringes were Rochdale signing Martin Emmett (who departed not long into the season), Paul Marflitt, Steve Bardsley and Kaise Toma, while Paul Wilkinson and Jason Stone shipped in mid-season.

Meanwhile in an era when players could transfer at will, Paul Caton joined Melville from Waikato United for one pre-season match before returning to Waikato, then rejoined Melville for a couple of northern premier league matches. But he again reverted to Waikato for eight matches though then withdrew until returning again late in the season (for Waikato).

Melville stalwart Wayne Barton even came out of convalescence for one late-season match.

Administrators rarely get any credit for on-field success, but on the administrative side of the club, in 1995 former coach Brian Coe was chairman, and the committee was Chris Wild (secretary), Vicki Stringer (northern league secretary), Brent Hunt (treasurer), Steve Owens (commercial manager), Ian Davies, Joanne Falconer, Shane Jessop, Robbie Jones, Richard Kardas, Jeremy Ollington, Andrea Timings and Stu Timings.

Steve Owens was also team manager, and so influential that when talking of Melville, everyone usually automatically referenced "The Two Steves". Neil Newport was equipment manager and Gavin D'Souza was physio.

Paul Thompson - later to become Radio New Zealand chief executive - and Jones had already both made over 100 appearances for Waikato United in the national league.

Kerbers - later to become Melville's chairman for the club's summer national league entry - had joined Melville in 1994, having played national league for University in 1985 and 1986, and Manurewa from 1988-90.

Larsen had been a member of the Waikato United squad which won the Chatham Cup in 1988 (as was Jones) while 20-year-old striker Gordon Jon Thompson - these days far better known as a corporate affairs consultant and having been chief of staff to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and former press secretary in Prime Minister Helen Clark’s office - had been Melville's player of the year in 1994 and was a rising star who really should have kicked on to greater footballing things.

Dominic Rogerson, who had joined from Waikato United in 1994, recalled a powerful sense of unity within the club.

"The committee was fully supportive of the team, and I often think back to the club members who travelled with us to away games, making our bus journeys home even more memorable," he said.

DOMINIC ROGERSON

"Steve Williams instilled an us-v-them mentality, with 'them' referring to anyone from Auckland, emphasising that we could never back down. If anyone though another teammate had been hard done by, rightly or wrongly there would be 10 of us standing right in his corner.

"Stu and Andrea (Timings) served as links between the squad and the club, and it took me some time to truly appreciate the contributions they and the committee made for both the team and the club. Their efforts fostered a genuine sense of togetherness among us."

A BROADER CONTEXT

Gordon Jon Thompson said it was necessary to look at the broader historical context in understanding Melville's 1995 premier title win. He said that to a large extent it was the product of great work by Williams, Owens and the club committee in the years prior.

"We’d won the first division in 1993 with the likes of Wayne Barton, Darryl Timbers, Swampy (Steve Marshall), Wardy (Darryl Ward) and Matt Perry," GJ said.

"I had joined from Waikato United - I was first year at university then and wanted to have some fun playing football.

"It was a bit of shock joining from Waikato - Gower Park was a paddock - but I had fun with the lads who were all enthusiastic and I also got a wee motorbike cheap.

"The club spirit was unique and the bus trips were full-on. We had away fans and Steve Williams always bought a round of flaming sambucas.

"We lost Wardy but got Mooch (Neil Mouncher) for 1994 and had a solid season but tailed off due to a lack of talent through the team. Weasel and I scored a lot of goals together (though I don’t think he ever laid one on for me) and Mooch was very solid at the back.

"The most notable thing was the all-in brawl at Rotorua (1994) after I got king hit and then Weasel got kicked in the head by the same bloke. My dad and Swampy ended up on the field and it was chaos with the game abandoned. The only player to stay out of it was Mooch.

"For 1995 Steve got Wardy back and added some good players like Dom (Rogerson), Macca (McAllister) and Paul (Thompson).

"Steve wasn’t a great technical coach – you could say we won the league despite him - but he built a team that won.

"We were very tough to play against. We were aggressive, organised and fit. But we could also play and had speed on the break. We’d always score some goals."

GJ's older brother Paul had played a few games for Melville in 1993 (Div 1 northern league) and said he enjoyed it.

"We won promotion from a scrappy league. I went overseas for the 1994 season (scoring 20 goals in 20 games for Rayners Lane FC in the Hellenic League) and rejoined Melville at the start of the 1995 season," Thompson said.

"The team had improved vastly since 1993: we had better players; more depth on the bench; more speed; and with Steve Williams still doing a good job of motivating us and building 'esprit de corps'.

PAUL THOMPSON

"If there was a Melville way, it was rough around the edges and built on combativeness and togetherness. It was an effective formula. More tactile than tactics.

"I got injured at the Cambridge pre-season tournament which was a shame as I never really fully recovered my form that season. Partly that was because my life was heading away from a football focus with the birth of our first daughter and new responsibilities at my job at the Waikato Times.

"I still however, have very good memories of the season. Neil (Mouncher) was great in goal despite his woeful distribution; Daryl (Ward) and Andrew (McAllister) were superb and GJ and Weasel were by far the best attacking duo in the league.

"It was smash, grab and headbutt at times."

Darryl Ward returned for his second spell with Melville, having previously played in the 1993 first division title-winning season, then done a season at Ngaruawahia (where he had also played in 1991).

"Steve was putting a good team together and I thought we’d have a pretty good season," Ward said. "It was a good bunch of guys and had a really good mix of youth and experience.

DARRYL WARD: DIFFICULT CHARACTER AT TIMES

"I can’t remember much of the football (That may have been the Sambucas - Ed) but I know we were tough to score against.

"Also having Weasel up front meant you were always going to score goals. I’m pretty sure everyone chipped in with a few however. We had a solid backline and Mooch (Neil Mouncher) in goal and had a great year.

"We tended not to worry about alcohol intake back then and I’m pretty sure Steve would come out on a Friday night to find what pub we were in and try and get us to go home.

"The club atmosphere was great and I remember us getting a lot of support. After-matches always tended to run late into the night and then carried on into town. It’s a complete change to football first teams now days.

"Definitely a good thing in terms of the football but I doubt that team spirit and playing for each other would match those days."

Meanwhile looking back through a 2025 lens, Williams said he wasn't left with the impression that he had totally hated the "party boy" culture.

"I just tried to engage with the players at a level that worked for them or exert influence on them. Sometimes that meant having a drink and doing all the stuff that they did."

Indeed, Williams never took kindly to being rushed by his players if everyone else was ready to get on the bus and head for home - but he had settled in for a few beers with some old mates away from home.

And with Williams' blessing, those bus trips home from Auckland were particularly boozy.

"We'd go to Tim (Smith) at Te Rapa Tavern with these big blue barrels and he'd give us loads of ice and we would fill it with Waikato, Lion Brown or Lion Red, or whatever it was that was going, and that sat in the middle of the bus on the way to the games.

"We used the ice for if players got injured, but it was mostly just to keep the beer cold.

"So the players knew whatever happened, they were going to have a good time on the way home."

Kerbers: "The bus trips home were pretty epic."

It was also the era of very loud pre-match dressing room music.

Williams: "We'd have a big ghetto blaster and I'd put the thing outside the changing room door, in the corridor, and they'd go, 'Turn that fucking thing off', and I'd just turn it louder.

"And then when they'd come inside, I'd have Rocky O'Rourke (former bare-knuckle boxer) out there with his broken nose watching over it."

Larsen concurred: "We would pump out the likes of Rage Against the Machine. It would disturb other teams. They would come in and ask us to turn it down. At which point we turned it up."

Kerbers: "I wasn't too much of a fan of the ghetto blaster pre-match ritual but understood its purpose."

MAD DOGS AT TRAINING

Williams defended his physically tough training regime.

"I always tried to create one-on-ones, two-on-twos, three-on-threes, where there was a real contest.

"One particular drill I did was with the playing area, 10 yards by 30 or whatever, they'd run out, and you just pop the ball into the middle, and they have to, like, kill each other to get the ball and get a shot away.

"Then we'd make it two-v-two, or three-v-three, and they have to get two passes together first. It was all about physical intent, and you had to get absolutely into it. They just looked like mad dogs at times, but most of them accepted it.

"There were a couple of ones that didn't. Gordon Jon (GJ) Thompson didn't like it, but (brother) Paul Thompson was okay with it - he quite liked the physical interaction."

GJ: "Trainings were full-on. Kicking lumps out each other in the mud. I was used a more technical approach but I don't think I ever shirked the physical aspect.

"Steve used to pair me with Mooch for the one on ones to raise the stakes but I was always too quick and skilful for him, which must have driven him mad after a long day sanding window sills."

Kerbers: "Some started to wear shin pads at training. But not for too long as that became just another target."

Later on in life Larsen got his coaching badges and did two seasons coaching Fencibles.

"I didn't reuse any of Steve's sessions."

But here's Williams in response to suggestions his sessions weren’t technically strong: "I never said I was Pep Guardiola, and in saying that, neither can I recall having Sergio Aguero or Bernardo Silva playing for me.

"We're down at Gower No 2 pitch with three light poles and four old lights on each pole and at best only three working at any one time. Before training Graham Jones would be sorting out the fuse box to get the lights working.

"The pitch was bone-dry in pre-season and a peat bog in the middle of winter. The reserves also played there on a Saturday. It was not the manicured arena of today.

"For two hours on a Tuesday and two hours on a Thursday we're there with a bunch of misfits, most of them with personality disorders.

"Let's be honest, we did what we had to. Fun times. I wouldn't change any of it."

Ultimately, a regime of training harder than you played served Melville well.

A FEW PLAYERS WHO WERE “SORT OF DIFFERENT”

Williams was initially guarded about reflecting too forensically on his individual charges 30 years on, but did offer a few nuggets.

"We had a couple of players who, I wouldn't say they were strange, but were sort of different."

Player of the year was keeper Mouncher, who also worked for Williams as a painter. Mouncher's idea of motivating a team mate prior to kick-off was usually to urge them to try and not be the worst player on the pitch.

Williams: "Mooch was a grumpy fuck. But, having said that, he was very consistent, and he was a reality check for some of the party boys.

"If you were going to go to war with anybody, you'd have Neil Mouncher - he'd be the first one over the top every time.

"And to have him at the back, he could control the likes of Andrew McAllister, even Darryl Ward, because you know what Neil's like. If he can't get his point across, he'll just punch you in the face. But you sort of need that. And he would terrify the life out of the back four.

"Neil was very good at what he did but I've had the conversation a thousand times. I'd say 'We need to work on your goal-kicking'.

"And he'd go, 'If I was good at goal-kicking, I wouldn't fucking be here'. He knew it was his downfall as a keeper. He'd either slice it or something and it wasn't through a lack of trying because Neil was otherwise excellent."

Larsen: "Mouncher was pretty grumpy, and I can't remember him saying anything positive all year. When he did communicate it was usually negative.

"But we needed someone like that. Stable, controlled, less communicative. He was solid and gave us backbone, hardly dropped a thing all season. His bark was worse than his bite but he was good for our team."

Mouncher made no apology for being grumpy.

"Everybody knows that - it's hardly news," he said. "Still true today."

"I'd come in from the UK and knew the attitude of some of the boys was not where it needed to be if we were going to win the league.

"I was not on the pitch to make friends, I was brought in to win."

Even 30 years on, Mouncher struggled to say anything nice with his recollections.

"Martin Emmett was Steve Williams' worst signing ever."

Here's Rogerson, former part-time barman, incidentally, on the team vibe: "It certainly helped that outside of football, we were connected in some way, whether as flatmates, long-time friends, or work colleagues.

"Our group was highly social, getting along well both on and off the pitch. There was no question that we all wanted to win, it mattered greatly to each of us to perform well for one another and not let anyone down.

"However, we also knew how to quickly move on after a game - except maybe for Neil (Mouncher), who had a tendency to dwell on our shortcomings, often reminding us of them in the early hours of the morning."

SELECTING A SKIPPER

Meanwhile Larsen offered a perceptive insight into why he was skipper. "I think Steve only made me captain to control me."

Williams: "Absolutely. If you've got a problem, you take somebody out of the frame. If you've got a union delegate who's causing you grief, you bring him into management, and then you see if they can replace that fellow with somebody else. I've always done it."

Williams saw Larsen as being a critical influence with some players, where he might personally struggle.

"Greg was quite influential with Wardy (Darryl Ward) and with Dominic Rogerson, and even Andrew McAllister.

"And he had a slight influence on Gordon Jon Thompson - they became friends. So if Gordon Jon's influenced, he'll get (brother) Paul (Thompson) to play. So it was all about joining the dots."

As skipper Larsen could be gobby-mouthed and quick-witted, with an aggressive streak which belied a less physically-imposing stature than many of his team-mates.

Williams: "Greg always had to have the last word."

In terms of style of play, Melville were not a team to fanny about at the back, but were exceptionally quick on the counter with Larsen, the Thompsons and Matt Perry always willing to get in behind teams.

They scored a lot of goals in this manner and Williams said that as coach it was a case of playing the hand he had been dealt.

"I think as a coach you've got to just figure out what you've got. You can't play like Manchester City, if you've got Carlisle United players.

"You look at what you've got, and you say, 'right, okay, we've got a good goalkeeper, we can score goals at the other end, and defensively we can be quite brutish'.

"Andrew McAllister was no shrinking violet, I mean, he could put in a two-footer quite easily. He certainly put himself about that year, and even broke Paul Marfitt's leg in a game, so he was quite rugged.

"And Dominic Rogerson was not someone who was just going to sit there. In fact most of them had a little bit of nasty in them.

Ronnie Kardas had the nasty in him, Wardy (Darryl Ward) did as well. Jonah (Graham Jones) knew how to put a tackle in. Greg Larsen could tackle from the forward line going backwards.

"Sigi (Kerbers) was always slightly a nice guy, but he knew he could do stuff. They all could. It was the era when they could all put it in if they needed to. That was almost like the basic requirement and skill you had to have.

"You had to able to foot it with the opposition. And with the likes of Mouncher, even his own teammates were scared of him.

"I remember Neil bagging Gordon Jon Thompson all the time, constantly fucking bagging him. Gordon Jon was a big lad, really built, but he didn't have that same nasty in him, probably because he's an intellect."

Mouncher disagreed with suggestions that he particularly targeted Gordon Jon with his invective.

"He would have been at the other end of the pitch. I'd have been far more concerned with my back four. They would have felt the biggest impact."

GJ: "I don’t think Mooch was on my case particularly - he was like that to everyone."

(For a wider context, GJ, Mouncher, Larsen and Kerbers were flatting together in some dingy dive in Hillcrest - where the pinko-liberal-student v painter-tradie mix always made for some interesting interactions, according to Kerbers.)

Williams: "Paul (Thompson) had more aggression than Gordon Jon, but Paul wasn't as skilled as Gordon Jon, who was actually a technically quite a good player.

"Paul had energy and drive, though Gordon Jon had a deft foot where he could move it with the outside of his right on the inside and could make a 50m run. He was quite powerful though could also have the sulks.

"Paul could play up front or right back and he was sort of energised and clever. He studied things and he'd say things like, 'I can see why you're doing this'.

"Jonah (Graham Jones) was at the tail end of his career, and he took to the role of being a leader quite easily. Jonah's as honest as the day is long and he'd let you know if things weren't correct, but mostly I think he seemed more than happy.

GRAHAM JONES: HONEST JONAH

"We had a couple of wildcard players, obviously. Matt Perry. Matt was Matt, one of those players that had a little bit of extra ping. Ronnie Kardas was just head down, arse up, and get stuck in."

"Sigi (Kerbers) was just one of those who would never give up. He just would keep on going. Sigi was always the deep thinker, who was quite calm and collected.

"Paul Wilkinson came in at one stage, and he sort of added that little bit of spice. Like McAllister, Wardy (Darryl Ward) was a talent. He fancied himself as a midfielder, or as a number 10, though you could also play him at the back.

"I quite liked Nigel Morgan. He was quite a technical player in midfield. He could play, but with the stable of players that we had, it was often hard to get him into the starting lineup though Greg would always push for him to be there."

At right back Richie Kardas (now dead) had great passion. Perry and Paul Thompson could play wide right or left as well, with Gordon Jon and Larsen up front.

"Jason Stone was in there too, and often popped up as a winger. He was a clever player. So there were a few who were all good and battling for a game.

"Halfie (Paul Marflitt) looked the part and was smart enough to know what he could do and what he couldn't. He was good for the presence of the team, because he was six foot two, a Geordie and he acted tough, looked like he could handle himself.

"And then, of course, we had Stu Timings. We could play him up front, we could play him in the midfield, we could play him at the back. You could just do anything with Stu and he'd just give you 100 per cent."

Kerbers summed up the 1995 Melville squad as "an eclectic mix".

"But we seemed to know our strengths and weaknesses and played to that. We relied on the forward play of GJ ,and Weasel to always create something or score, while Jonah and myself were retired to the back line and always looking to play out from there.

"Daryl Ward and Mouncher were a 'nice to have' and provided great cover for that defensive line.

"The many others mentioned all had their value and input to the team, culture and style of play.

"We had a team that did enough and wasn't flashy. But in saying that when, we all clicked we had the players that really could hurt most sides."

Melville's 1995 reserve team coach Jeremy Ollington said midweek matches at training against the first team could be fierce.

"But there was always a good amount of banter on and off the pitch with a few drinks had after training, on a Thursday where the club rooms were always packed with players and the odd hanger-on.

"The feeling around the club at this time was positive and I think this was shown on a Saturday by the amount of supporters/players and club members who you would run into, following a first team home game.

"The club would be bulging at the seams on a number of match days, particularly against Ngaruawahia and Metro, who were a good side in those days with Sean Hird as coach.

"The league itself was played in a manner different from today, with the teams being more physical and direct and not the same focus on individuals, apart from the odd player in each side.

"There was a fair amount of aggression in each tackle. I think if this was played now we would see a lot more red cards just due to the nature of the play, which was hard and expected at the time."

PRE-SEASON

Melville had lost Warwick Anderson (back to Wanderers) and Scott McKee (overseas) from the 1994 squad but had talent to spare.

In pre-season Melville won the Cambridge Tournament, beating Ngaruawahia 4-0 in the final, though hardly got excited about it, having also won it the previous two years. Skipper Larsen barely said a word in collecting the trophy, while strike-mate GJ Thompson called it "just another day at the office".

There was also a new pre-season tournament in operation - the Niro Cup - which began in February and featured Melville, superclub team Waikato United, Ngaruawahia and Cambridge.

It had been the brainchild of Niro general manager Ray Noorland, a long-time backer of the code.

"We need greater friendship between Waikato clubs," Noorland said. "It is a very passionate sport but I hope this series will help clubs and people relate to each other."

Waikato beat Melville 2-0 in the opening match at Muir Park. But the biggest takeaway from the contest was Waikato coach Eddie Edge subsequently being fined $200 for verbally abusing linesman David Coles, telling him he was wrong for disallowing a Waikato goal in the final minutes.

The most peculiar aspect to this was that Edge was not coaching on the day. Roger Wilkinson was doing that but Edge was watching from the grandstand at Muir Park, and his unmistakeable Wolverhampton accent made him easy to identify as a loud barracker.

Edge apologised and said he would take it on the chin, but the fine did surprise him.

"They have gunned for me," he said. 'They have given me top whack. I have no record of misbehaviour... What happens now when somebody actually swears at a referee or worse?"

Waikato skipper Duncan Lowry was also suspended for two matches for abusing one of the officials after the final whistle.

In the media pre-season Williams nominated East Coast Bays and Metro as his major league threats, but expressed great confidence.

"I don't see why we can't win the league," he said. "Last year we had bits and pieces of talent. Now we have it all over the park."

In retrospect Williams said confidence was just a commodity that was used as required to manipulate or influence his squad.

A SHAKY START

As it happened Melville made a shaky start to the league, losing 0-2 away to Howick in an exciting but rough and unattractive contest where both teams struggled to string more than three passes together in what resembled high-speed pinball.

Melville's first home match of the season was switched from Gower to Muir Park at late notice because autumn undersowing had left the pitch unplayable. (Fans may see a pattern there.)

THE MUIR PARK GRANDSTAND

Melville beat Oratia 2-0 in a Sunday match. The win was lukewarm though, with Paul Caton sent off after 10 minutes for foul language. But against a team which even at that stage of the season had 'relegation" written all over them, Melville should have tucked away a hatful of goals.

Instead they had to settle for two second-half strikes from Gordon Jon Thompson.

Melville beat Blockhouse bay 4-0 away with two goals from defender McAllister, one for centre back partner Martin Emmett and one for Gordon Jon Thompson.

And a week later they genuinely looked title contenders for the first time with a 5-0 home win over Papakura, with Larsen grabbing a hat trick and Dominic Rogerson scoring on debut.

But goal of the game was a solo effort from Gordon Jon Thompson, who out-legged the defence in the 78th minute and squeezed home a shot inside the far post, as Melville moved to second on the table.

However midfielder Mark Willson was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Melville slipped four points off the pace when beaten 2-0 away to leaders Metro, and then came the first derby with Ngaruawahia United.

Given Steve Williams had spent 13 years at Ngaruawahia, it was always going to be a sensitive occasion.

This match also pitted Williams against his 17-year-old son, Matt, who was still at school but had burst onto the senior scene as a cocky midfielder, complete with Cantona-style turned up collar, after returning from a season in Australia.

Pre-match both agreed it was best Matt was not at Melville.

Steve: "At Ngaruawahia he can be treated more as a No 1 than the No 13 he would be here."

Matt: "At Ngaruawahia I make my own name. If I was at Melville people might think I was in the team because I was the coach's son."

(As it happened Matt was in the team when Melville United won the northern premier league title in 2009, with Steve as coach.)

Melville won the Ngaruawahia match 2-1, without overly impressing, though Larsen potted two first half goals, including a diving header.

In the Chatham Cup Melville drew their nearest neighbours - Waikato United - who were domiciled just 2km away at Muir Park. And in the circumstances Melville elected to surrender their home advantage and play at Muir Park in the interest of attracting a larger gate, with a Sunday match.

Under a deal thrashed out between the clubs, Melville kept the gate takings and Waikato got the bar receipts.

Both clubs were enthusiastic about the tie. "It's got to be better than playing Whangarei away," Williams observed.

But it turned out to be a bit of a shit-kicker, with Waikato grafting to a 2-0 win thanks to two late goals - one from Jason Stone who a month later switched to Melville.

By mid-May Melville were third in the league, three points adrift of leaders East Coast Bays, after a 3-1 home win over Lynndale through a Gordon Jon Thompson penalty, a Rogerson goal and a header from Mark Willson.

But Melville dropped points at home for the first time when rolled 3-0 by John "The Lip" Lipscombe's Eden side.

Kerbers: "Steve put out a side totally different to what we had been putting out up until then. A few had no inkling of what was happening as we hadn't trained accordingly and deservedly got beaten.

"Steve lost his rag a bit at some who were thrown in the deep end, but to everyone's credit we moved on.

"It wasn't our finest moment, but I think we learned a lot, so a bit of a turning point for all."

However Melville bounced back with a storming 4-2 away win over East Coast Bays, in a match where left back Ronnie Kardas broke his leg in an action-packed final 10 minutes.

Paul Thompson had put Melville ahead but they then trailed twice before an own goal and a Perry strike, while Larsen clinched victory with a diving header.

Larsen: "The match where Ronnie broke his leg was a catalyst. We were doing okay at the time, but we never lost after that."

Ward: "Ronnie breaking his leg ended up being a real motivating factor both in that game and then onwards in the season."

By mid-June Melville were seven points off the pace - and appearing to lack passion - after dropping points with a 2-2 home draw against struggling Pakuranga Town. Rogerson, playing at left back, lashed in a stunning opening goal but it took a close-range equaliser from Larsen in the 70th minute to prevent a loss.

Larsen also volleyed home a beauty to beat Blockhouse Bay 1-0 in early July, and then Papakura 4-2, with defender McAllister grabbing two goals.

A CRITICAL HOME WIN

Then on July 23 Melville registered their critical 2-0 home win over Metro. Wayne Barton, traditionally a striker, returned from a long-term convalescence in which he was nursing an abnormal bone growth in his left hip socket to have his first outing in over a year, played at centre back for the first time.

"It is not a comeback," said Barton, who had been Melville's player of the year in 1991, 1992 (shared with Shane Vannin) and 1993 (shared with Daryl Timbers). "It is a case of filling in. I don't know if I will be able to play again.

"I was taking a risk, but the biggest risk was to the team. I am not that mobile and I was worried I might let them down."

Larsen and Perry scored the goals, with Kerbers, Jones, Rogerson and McAllister also prominent.

Kerbers said the win was a key moment for the team.

"It was a shite day at Gower but probably our most complete performance all year and a 2-0 result against a team that was threatening to run away with the league."

GJ: "We were mentally tough. After the game (Metro coach) Sean Hird was quite relaxed but we knew then we had momentum and went on a great run."

Paul Thompson: "I was either suspended or injured for the big match (v Metro) at Gower Park that turned the season around.

"I watched from the bench. I chiefly remember recall how good Sigi and Jonah were that day, using all their wiles and leading the way.

"The whole team were incredible in that game and the performance summed up the year for a determined and hungry bunch of footballers."

Ward: "That Metro team was decent and had a number of really tough players so we must have been okay."

Mouncher also cited the Metro win as a key moment for the team, along with a 1-0 away win over Pakuranga Town.

Meanwhile striker Gordon Jon Thompson turned down an invitation to join Waikato United - who were chasing national superclub championship title honours - on loan in late July, preferring to see the season out with Melville.

GJ: "I made some very good friends who are still close now and playing with my brother was a highlight. That’s why I didn’t sign for Eddie (Waikato United coach Eddie Edge) for good money for a student. Afterwards I found out others were being paid when I wasn’t."

Steadily Melville reined in Metro, moving to within a point of the league lead with a 3-1 away win over Ngaruawahia United.

Ngaruawahia often got in behind an often leaden Melville defence, but once again it was Melville's finishing skills that proved the difference, with three super goals.

In the 16th minute Gordon Jon Thompson picked up the ball in his own half, outran the defence and beat the keeper with a far post shot. The ball was skidding wide but Paul Wilkinson pounced to tap it in.

Ngaruawahia equalised through Craig Jessep but Thompson clinically finished a Rogerson through ball. And Perry put the result beyond doubt with one of the finest goals of the season. He picked the ball up deep, ran hard and thundered a 30m rocket into the net.

FINALLY GOING TOP

On August 5 Melville finally surged to the top of the table, coming from behind to beat Lynndale 2-1, with four matches remaining and a 2-point lead

It was a slightly makeshift Melville lineup, but Richard Kardas had a fine game at right back, while Jason Stone returned from injury to net the equaliser. Nigel Morgan, introduced to the match when Rogerson pulled out with an injured hamstring, scored the winner eight minutes from time.

GJ: "I remember Nigel scoring the winner with a header from a corner. 'Big Nudge' rose like a salmon."

"Previously we have had to rely on others to win the title," Williams said at the time. "Now it is in our own hands."

Next up was fourth-placed Onehunga Sports at Gower and in injury time Perry swept the ball home from a corner to claim a 1-0 win to put Melville four points clear.

TITLE TRIUMPH

A week later Melville claimed the northern premier league title for the first time with a 2-1 away win over Eden - and then news came through that Metro had lost to Pakuranga town, clinching the deal.

For Melville, Paul Thompson came on as a midfield sub and burst through in the 77th minute, while Perry scored from close range and Eden netted a late consolation.

"I'm very happy," Williams told the Waikato Times. "There was not the excitement like there was when we won the first division two years ago - this title was more expected.

"But it is tremendous recognition for players like Greg Larsen, Paul Wilkinson and Dominic Rogerson. These lads have never had winners' medals before."

Larsen said it was almost anti-climactic claiming the long-cherished title in a concrete jungle away from home.

"We thought the title might have come at home the following week but results went our way. We were celebrating an away win (2-1) and it turned to euphoria when the other results came through.

"Later in the night we were celebrating at the Rangiriri Tavern on the way home and singing 'Campione'.

"Te Awamutu were also there and their coach (Mike Meizenbeek) came up to me and said, 'can you teach me the lyrics to that song, I think we're going to win out league next week and we will want to sing it'.

"I mean it's basically a one-word song. 'Campione, Campione ... oh oh oh oh'."

During the season Williams ran a points system for Melville player of the day – a 3-2-1 thing - with the winner getting an overseas trip.

Ward: "I'm pretty sure there was some dodgy scoring in the final round and me and Mooch shared it."

Williams: "There were two flights to Australia from a sponsorship with the Flight Centre up for grabs and Neil (Mouncher) would have won both of them, so I recall I may have rigged it slightly to suit, as Neil would just about always be man of the match so to keep it interesting I split the vote to keep Wardy keen because he could be a difficult character at times.

"Nothing like showing the love, even if you don’t mean it. In saying that, Wardy was still a valuable asset. A bit of skulduggery maybe - but it was all about the end goal and getting over the finish line."

A GOOD MAN MANAGER WITH A BASIC RECIPE

Having guided Melville to the title Williams acknowledged his team had shortcomings, but said he knew how to play to it’s strengths, and pontificated on football being a thinking man's game.

“It’s based on the same basic recipe that works in business and personal relationships. Do the same in football and you will be successful as well. It comes down to careful planning and putting the effort in.

"Do the basics, the preparation and add whatever is necessary every week. The days of smashing windows to motivate players has gone.”

On that front, today Williams said time had proved the validity of such an outlook.

"I did have some run-ins with some - and a lot of them were young at the time - but the bulk of that squad have all gone on to be relatively successful in their own lives and business-wise since.

“There were a lot of big ego’s in that group, most of them really fancied themselves, which probably played a big part in the season outcome. And to be fair they have all done pretty well with their lives - so good on them.”

Kerbers: "I always saw Steve as a good man manager who knew who to cajole and who to put a rocket under. He was good at putting the right pieces into the right places of the puzzle and we were 'a puzzle' at times.

"He instilled a good team culture, that, right or wrong, worked."

Rogerson: "Matches were challenging, and training was even tougher. While our football skills may not have always been fantastic, we excelled at playing for one another and for the club."

GJ: "Our tactics weren’t that sophisticated - great goalie (except for kicking), solid at the back and in midfield and good finishers up front.

"Steve was a good motivator and organiser and the club behind him was, in hindsight, special.

"He set up the 'us against them' mentality and it worked that season. Overall I enjoyed playing for him and we did win two leagues together.

"Maybe with hindsight Steve felt he struggled to reach me and others like Matt Perry but we never let him down.

"All in all, I enjoyed the season immensely - I enjoyed winning and competing and making a difference for my team, but most of all, it was fun with a good bunch of lads."

Final word to team manager Steve Owens, who played a key role throughout as Melville transitioned from a third division club to a premier league club.

"Steve (Williams) had a great skill in surrounding himself with people who believed in his vision and he got them on-board, each doing their own job and each being accountable for their job.

"We were all in it together. And for the management team it started on Friday 4pm around at Steve’s house and finished up at a few bars in town.

"It wasn’t just about the football, it was all about building a football club through careful, planning and preparation - and execution.

"It was also about building an image, with the best team apparel, bus travel arrangements, socialising and facilities development."