CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS
Mr BURNS (Macnamara) (10:31): We find ourselves standing on the shoulders of migrants who set up this club 70 years ago, who never lost faith in unity, prosperity and equity. It's a club built on multiculturalism, on giving joy to its spectators and its fans. The win by Hellas is a win for all football and importantly our Hellenic community.
These are the words by Bill Papastergiadis, who is the co-president of the South Melbourne Football Club with Andrew Mesourouni. The two of them and their entire team—just like the whole of South Melbourne—were in absolute elation after the win by the South Melbourne Hellas over Melbourne Victory in the Australia Cup on the weekend. The thing that makes this extraordinary is that the South Melbourne Football Club, the Hellas, are not an A-League club.
They are not in the top tier of competition in this country, yet they defeated the Melbourne Victory on the weekend in penalties to win this tournament. It is a reflection of the grassroots nature of this club that has been around since 1959. If anyone has been to the southern parts of Melbourne and walked through the streets, the Greek community is part of the furniture.
It is a cornerstone of this incredible part of Melbourne. I love walking through Albert Park and South Melbourne and speaking to my constituents, who are proud Greek Australians who never lost their culture or their language but brought it and shared it with our amazing Melbourne community. It is— Honourable members interjecting— Mr BURNS: I won't take the interjections.
What I will say is that we are so proud of this club for what it stands for and the multicultural way in which it has helped found Melbourne, one of the great Greek cities of the world. More than that, South Melbourne has a proud history as a football club as well. Ange Postecoglou was a player for South Melbourne and then was a manager for four years, leading them to back-to-back NSL titles.
So many people have used and grown through this club to go on and do great things in football. South Melbourne is a club where it is all about the community. It is all about bringing the fans and the community—to be proud of who they are, to hold on to their Greek heritage and their Greek past.
But they are also ambitious. They want to be a part of the A-League. I know that it has been a difficult journey, but wins like the weekend, where a club that isn't even in the top-tier competition believed in itself and overcame extraordinary odds to defeat one of the premier clubs in the country, show anything is possible.
If it's possible, the Hellas can make it possible.