Fijians storming soccer

By Stuart Teather
WHEN someone mentions Fijian footballers, most Australians will think of Lote Tuqiri, the rugby sensation, or perhaps Nicholas Naitanui, the up-and-coming AFL star.
So it may come as a surprise that a bunch of Fijians are taking a different code of football by storm — soccer.
At Hampton Park, a group of Fijians put together a soccer team, and, in their first competitive season, are taking all before them.
Led by their coach Arnold Modliar, the Hampton Park Warriors are an all-Fijian team contesting the Bayside League Division Two competition this year, and by all accounts, are dominating.
While rarely playing himself, Modliar is very familiar with the Melbourne soccer scene, having played for Dandenong and the Casey Comets during his career.
A knee injury forced Modliar to the sidelines, and prompted him to start coaching.
Modliar explained the team is made up of Fijian-Indians that live and work in Melbourne.
“The boys come from all sides of the town, for example Epping, Mill Park and Taylors Lakes, and these players have come and migrated from Fiji, they’re staying here and working full-time,” he said.
What started as a bunch of mates playing soccer together on Sundays quickly swelled into a dominant team.
“This is our first year, the boys have come together, we started playing socially at Hampton Park, and we decided to give it a go in a league.
“We approached Michael Herbert, the president of Hampton Park, and he said we could play third division.
“From there, I became a committee member, we started training and that’s how we got into the league.”
So far this year, the side has only lost two games, and has won others by as much as 17 goals.
Despite its successes on the pitch, Modliar said the side was about more than just soccer.
“It’s not only soccer, after the game we come together in the club rooms, and we throw a barbecue, and there’s a good bond with the boys.
“Another thing with the Fijian boys there’s a good culture, to respect their upper elders, and also respect among the players and towards me as a coach.
“They come (and play) just because of our culture, what it means is a friendly environment and everyone loves playing soccer, they’re full of passion for it.”
For now, the Warriors are focused on their next goal — defeating division one side Montrose A on the weekend.
Having defeating Montrose’s third side 18-1 recently, it would be hard to tip against the Warriors.