It’s one of those picturesque spring afternoons. It’s 20 degrees with a crisp wind carrying the smell of hot chips through the air. Behind one of the stands, the city skyline is lit up by the sun. The stands are filled with black and yellow scarves, blue and red hats, faithfuls, casuals, young and old. Among the nearly 9,000 in attendance, there are smiles, laughs, and chatter.

Kick-off is nearing, the sun is setting. By the time the referee blows the whistle, the sun is completely swallowed by the Port Phillip Bay, and the only thing lighting up the dark sky is red and yellow flares. The wholesome community atmosphere is replaced by hostility, chants and insults. You would be forgiven for thinking you are attending a game in the Balkans, with its raucous atmosphere, but you are not.

The stage is set and the National Premier League Victoria (NPLV) Grand Final, between Heidelberg United and Dandenong City, is underway.

Both teams have strong community backing. Heidelberg is a historic Greek club based in the north of Melbourne. For Dandenong, a lot of Melbourne’s Australian-Croatian community, even those who go for other clubs, are in attendance to support them tonight.

For decades, clubs like these have formed the backbone of Australian football. They have also become notorious for a rowdy fan culture and the occasional brawl. Today, almost all fans are well-behaved, but some objects thrown by Heidelberg supporters, a Nazi salute from a Dandenong fan, and a subsequent punch to the face set the tone for the game.

A cagey first half provides just enough crunching tackles to keep large portions of the record crowd singing. But in the final minutes of the first half, it’s Heidelberg supporters who sing the loudest when their star striker, Bul Juach, scores from the penalty spot to put them in the lead.

A stellar second half provides a goal to each team, with the match ending in a 2-1 win to Heidelberg, followed by celebrations long into the night for the yellow and blacks.

Despite the loss, Technical Director at Dandenong City, Jared Svaljek, is in a great mood after a game that attracted 2,000 more spectators than any previous NPLV Grand Final.

“Good atmosphere, good crowd, relatively well behaved across the board, so a successful night for football in Victoria,” he tells upstart.

Dandenong City’s Senior Phase Lead and Jared’s dad, Mick Svaljek, thinks the better team on the night lost, but is full of praise for the champions.

“They’re obviously a quality football team and they deserve all the success they get,” he tells upstart.

The success Svaljek senior is talking about isn’t limited to the NPLV. Heidelberg are also in the Australia Cup final, the first time any National Premier League (NPL) team, regardless of state, has made it that far.

“It just shows you that the gap is getting closer and closer between the A-League and the NPL,” he says.

Cameron Watson is a former A-League and NPLV player who coaches NPLV side St Albans Saints. He tells upstart that Heidelberg have been “in a league of their own” this season, together with premiers Avondale FC.

It’s in the Australia Cup where they’ve shone the brightest. Producing three ‘cupsets’ in a row against A-League opposition. They’ve not only beaten A-League teams, but they’ve done so in style, scoring nine without conceding a goal.

“To do it three times … in a row and not concede a goal is a very hard thing to do,” Watson says.

Watson won the first edition of the cup back in 2014 with Adelaide United. That year, only one NPL team beat A-League opposition. In this year’s rendition of the cup, it’s happened five times. That number could still go up if Heidelberg beat Newcastle Jets in the final.

While he says the level back in the early 2010s was high, with plenty of ex-National League players and Socceroos playing in the NPLV, Watson thinks it has benefitted from becoming more tactical and professional, with today’s generation taking it more seriously.

“Everyone’s a better athlete now, everyone looks after themselves,” he says.

But the NPLV is still miles away from the A-League. The average spent on wages per club in the A-League was $4.8 million in 2024. Watson says the NPLV is very different, with clubs training in the evenings and players relying on daytime jobs to get by.

NPLV commentator and host of The NPL Victoria Pod, Josh Parish, tells upstart that despite their superior funding, the A-League has lost some of its edge after a decrease in broadcast rights payments.

“There’s been a lot of cost-cutting, a lot of enforced austerity,” he says.

While it has been great for player development, Parish believes the gap between the NPL and the A-League has “closed more than ever”.

The NPLV has also reached new levels in fan engagement. Parish points out two main reasons for the upswing – a 2019 media deal making all games free-to-watch on YouTube, and a rule-change that meant three clubs were relegated at the end of the season as opposed to two.

“It’s a lot of jeopardy in a 14-team league. It creates a lot of pressure, but it also creates a lot more excitement,” he says.

Parish, who also works as a media producer for the Preston Lions, says their return from the division below has helped create some hype around the competition.

“I think they have brought a lot of extra eyeballs and crowds to the competition.”

Parish adds that having an ambitious club like Preston towards the top of the league has started an “arms race” between clubs, creating healthy competition.

Preston drew the biggest crowd in this year’s NPLV, with over 9,000 people attending the historically Macedonian club’s first league clash in 16 years with their Greek rivals South Melbourne.

Parish is now excited for a new competition that starts in October, the Australian Championship, which he hopes can elevate Victorian teams even further. The competition will consist of eight founder clubs, including South Melbourne and Preston, who will be competing against the premiers of the eight NPL divisions.

He hopes it can elevate Australian football and be a proving ground for NPL clubs that aspire to play in the A-League and already have large followings.

“The barrier to that, of course, is [that] A-League clubs pay their way in,” Parish points out.

Ideally, he wants that to change. He wants to see relegation and promotion introduced, as is the norm for football leagues around the world.

“That’s the only way the game is going to get to the next level in this country,” he says.

“If that isn’t what Football Australia are trying to achieve with the Australian Championship, then there is no point in it existing. It has to be the long-term vision.”