2013 finish: Melbourne Knights finished second at the end of the regular 2014 Victorian Premier League (VPL) season, but was bundled out of the finals in straight sets to finish fourth overall.

NPL 2014 squad: Shayan ALINEJAD, Leo ATHANASIOU, Milan BATUR, Adrian BARRESI, Dallas COLELOUGH, Anthony COLOSIMO, Jacob COLOSIMO, Rodrigo COVARRUBIAS, Marijan CVITKOVIC, Anthony DUZEL, Tomislav FADLJEVIC, Daniel GICEVSKI, Ivan GRGIC, Luke JURCIC, Billy KATHOPOULIS, Michael KATIFORIS, Dennis KOUTROULIS, Antun KOVACIC, Ante KOZUL, Chris MAY (GK), James McGARRY, Michael O’FARRELL, Damien RASTOCIC, Michael SIMMS, Nikola SRBINOVSKI, Chris STEFANI, Christopher TALAJIC, Sam TORRENS, Tomislav USKOK, Daniel VISEVIC

Key signings: Rodrigo Covarrubias, Michael O’Farrell (Green Gully), Daniel Visevic (Port Melbourne), Antun Kovacic (Dandenong City)

Key departures: Ryan Filipovic (Werribee City), Adam Zilic, Craig Sweeney

The gaffer: The Knights' push for NPL silverware will be managed by Andrew Marth, who will enter his second full season as head coach after an impressive 2013. The club legend and former captain is highly revered and has recruited well in the off-season, while also re-signing the majority of last season's squad including 2013 VPL Gold Medallist Marijan Cvitkovic.

One to watch: After a period abroad with Argentinian club Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors, as well as the River Plate U20 team, new signing Rodrigo Covarrubias will hope to be Melbourne Knights' go-to-man up front this season. The 20-year-old is no stranger to Knights Stadium, having played seven years of his junior days at the club prior to playing senior football for a host of teams. Covarrubias returned to the VPL during the back end of the 2013 season with Pascoe Vale.

Pictured: Melbourne Knights before a pre-season friendly (image credit: Melbourne Knights FC)