By Kieran Yap 3/9/25
Above: Paige Zois. Photo: Bulleen Lions
Paige Zois is back to her best. After a long term injury, the midfielder has bounced back with goals, assists and brought her famous passing range to full effect. Bulleen Lions are playing their best football at the right time of the season, and Zois in the centre has been a huge factor.
“Going through that whole injury process was really difficult,” Zois said to Impetus.
“I feel like I didn’t really understand how hard rehab a rehab process was.”
Zois was injured in a collision against Heidelberg United last season, which cut short her NPLW campaign and limited her availability with Melbourne Victory. After months on the sidelines she made her return in April to wide celebrations from fans.
It was a long road back, but in some ways, it makes playing finals football with Bulleen all the more rewarding.
“I think it’s kind of made me appreciate, where I am now, and made me appreciate how, exciting the opportunity to play in a semi-final is.”
From the outside, it has looked like she has not missed a beat. Zois’s familiar defence splitting passing and controlled midfield presence was a big factor in some of Bulleen’s tougher games this season. An outstanding gritty performance amid freezing, hailing conditions in the Nike FC Cup quarter final went hand in hand with a spectacular free kick to score against FV Academy.
For Zois, it has been the result of a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
“It’s taken me, like, I think since I was cleared at Victory until this last few weeks to really feel like I’m getting back into the groove of it.
“I think it’s taken me a bit, but, (Bulleen coach) Caitlin Friend has been really helpful, and all my teammates have been so great and supportive that it’s helped make it a lot easier.
“I think I’ve learned that, things just take time, and you have to stick it through and work through things, and it’ll eventually get there.
“But (I have) greater appreciation for everyone else who’s gone through a really difficult injury, because it’s not easy.”
Zois’s best form has coincided with Bulleen’s. Although the 2024 premiers have rarely been out of the top four this season, it has taken some time for them to really unlock the best on field combinations in a star studded but still young squad .
The return of Tiffany Eliadis, the growing stature of Nia Salleh and the explosiveness of Alana Cortellino and Danella Butrus on the wings have all been factors.
In midfield, the combination of Zois and Sarah Cain has looked like one of the league’s best duos.
“I played with her, I think, in NTC when we were super young, and she was a little bit older than me, so I kind of, like, looked up to her, even back then.
“I absolutely love playing with her. I think she could be, like, one of my favorite, midfield partnerships that I’ve had.
“We talk about, like, being on a rope together, because, I feel like she just, like, understands what I need, and I understand what she needs in a game.
“I think she’s just one of those players that, like, make you better as well. And I’m just, like, really happy that I got to create this partnership with her, and it’s been really fun so far.
“It came really naturally, and I think that was also thanks to Caity as well, because she, like, kind of lets you have a bit of freedom on the field, and, like, do what, you know, comes natural to you.
“I think when I’ve been at Victory, like, I’ve been, like, predominantly, like, a number six that does a lot of defensive duties, but it’s nice coming here to Bulleen and be given some freedom to, you know, roam up the field knowing that Sarah has my back, and vice versa.”
Cain and Zois form a midfield partnership that look comfortable receiving the ball anywhere on the pitch and both have the experience to know what the game needs at any given time. They can both keep the ball on the deck or send long balls to the wings before the defence has time to react. If either has time to shoot, it spells trouble for goalkeepers.
What has long set Zois apart from most other midfielders is her ability to put the ball exactly where she wants it.
That gives Bulleen an enviable weapon from set pieces, and with four assists in the last two games, she could easily be the difference in a knockout game.
Even if the midfield rhythm can be disrupted, at some point she will get a chance to send in a corner or free kick. If you are an opposition defender all you can really do is hope.
She is modest about her deal-ball prowess and quick to give credit to her teammates for their finishing and arial ability.
“I think that we’ve got some just really dominant girls on the team.
“I try my best to get it in some sort of space that they’re in, so they can kind of do their job.
“Honestly, I think it’s more down to them.
“I just whip it in and then they’re getting on the end of it.”
It is an attribute well known across the league and one honed through years of practice.
“In my house, when I was younger, we had a little room, and I had soccer goals, in the room and every day, I would go and play in there and continuously curl the ball into a little target that I had.”
Bulleen enter finals after a 4-1 win over newly crowned premiers Heidelberg United and an 8-0 thrashing of Brunswick Juventus. Those impressive results are the latest in a 12 game undefeated streak that featured only two draws.
In most seasons that sort of form would have been enough to secure a third consecutive premiership, but knockout games are different and they face an equally dangerous Box Hill United, themselves fresh off a seven goal game against Preston in Round 22.
As the business end of the season approaches, the intensity of training has ramped up at The Veneto Club.
“The (training) games are so difficult and intense, and it really, tests you, I guess, and I think that puts us in good shape for the weekend.
“I don’t want to speak too soon. I hope that we continue the form that we’ve been generating, and I’m really looking forward to this week.
“It’s going to be a really challenging game
“Playing anyone that’s finished in the top four will be challenging, so it’ll be fun and exciting, but hopefully we can continue the form that we’re in.
“Obviously both teams can score a lot of goals, so maybe it’ll be, like, a battle of who can keep a clean sheet and defend really well. Finals are just different though.
“It’s hard to really predict what’s going to happen.
“It’s going to be really important for some of the older girls, like myself and Tiff and Sarah, to kind of maybe lead by example. because there are going to be some nerves.
“I’ve been there where I’ve been absolutely terrified, but I think coming in this week, I’m more just excited at the opportunity to play in a final.
“They’re the best type of games to play in. I’m just coming at it from that point of view.”
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