Panagiotis "Panny" Nikas (born 27 July 1988) is an Australian former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player. He is most notable for playing for

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

clubs

Central Coast Mariners FC Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under Professional sports lea ...

and

North Queensland Fury FC Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from th ...

. Nikas also represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

in 2013. Nikas is a two time winner of the

National Premier Leagues NSW The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier L ...

with

Sutherland Sharks FC Sutherland Sharks FC is an Australian association football club based in the suburb of Sutherland in Sydney, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Its home games are played at Seymour Shaw Park, locate ...

(2009) and

Sydney United 58 Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional association football, soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, New South Wales, Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia ...

(2016) and the

Waratah Cup The Waratah Cup is a knockout cup competition in New South Wales, run by the governing body of football in NSW, Football NSW. Teams competing in the Waratah Cup come from the National Premier Leagues NSW, NSW League One, NSW League Two, and n ...

(2015, 2016). He was also National Premier Leagues NSW Player of the Season in 2013 and the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

Youth Player of the Season in 2010.

Club career

Penrith Nepean United

Whilst at the club during 2008, Nikas played 13 games scoring 3 goals.

Sutherland Sharks

In 2009, he signed a contract with

Sutherland Sharks Sutherland Sharks FC is an Australian association football club based in the suburb of Sutherland in Sydney, New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Its home games are played at Seymour Shaw Park, loca ...

. Playing 25 games and scoring 14 times. Whilst playing for the

, Nikas was selected in the TeleChoice. He also trained in the 2000

2009 NSW Premier League season The 2009 TeleChoice Premier League season was the ninth season of the revamped National Premier Leagues NSW. This season also marked the addition of the Bonnyrigg White Eagles Football Club, promoted from the Super League. The 2009 regular sea ...

All-Star team.

Central Coast Mariners

He signed a contract with

in 2009–2010. Most of the year he had been playing in the National Youth League. Nikas made his first team debut for the Central Coast Mariners coming on as a substitute for Nicky Travis in a 2–0 home defeat to the

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

on 31 December 2009. Nikas was named the National Youth League 2009/10 Player of the Season. On 23 March 2010, despite his impressive performances in their NYL side, Nikas was released by the Mariners.

Sutherland Sharks Return

In 2010 after being released by

he returned to the

playing 9 times and scoring 4 goals. He returned to the A-league after his stint with the club.

North Queensland Fury

In July 2010, Nikas signed with Australian

club

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from th ...

. He made his club debut in a 2–3 loss against Melbourne Heart.

Back to Sutherland

With the demise of North Queensland Fury, Nikas returned to his state league club

for the

2011 NSW Premier League season The 2011 NSW Premier League season was the 11th season of the revamped NSW Premier League. Teams West Sydney Berries were relegated at the end of the 2010 season after finishing at the bottom of the table. They were replaced by Super League ...

. In 2015, Nikas signed with NPL NSW powerhouse

Sydney United 58 FC Sydney United 58 Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club and current NSW NPL Champions based in Edensor Park, Sydney, New South Wales Australia. The club was formed as Sydney Croatia in 1958, by Croatian Australians in the area, but it ...

. Nikas scored eight league goals in 19 games as United finished 7th in the league. Nikas also scored a brace in the

2015 FFA Cup The 2015 FFA Cup was the second season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams began competition in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including all 10 A-League teams, the reigning Nat ...

Round of 32, as his side beat

South Hobart FC South Hobart Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Hobart, Tasmania. Founded in 1910, the club currently competes in the NPL Tasmania. South Hobart plays home games at South Hobart Ground and also fields teams in all junior div ...

on penalties. The following season, Nikas scored an incredible 18 league goals from midfield as Sydney United 58 took out the premiership.

A-League career statistics

(''Correct as of 16 February 2011'')

Honours

: *

NSW Premier League The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, one of the two organising bodies in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Lea ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: *

National Premier Leagues The National Premier Leagues (NPL) is a men's national association football competition in Australia which acts as the second tier of the sport in the country below the A-League. The NPL consists of the highest level state league in each state- ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

; Individual * A-League National Youth League Player of the Year: 2009–10 * National Premier Leagues NSW Player of the Year:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* National Premier Leagues NSW Golden Boot:

References

External links

Central Coast Mariners profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nikas, Panny 1988 births Australian men's soccer players Australian people of Greek descent Sportspeople of Greek descent A-League Men players Central Coast Mariners FC players Central Coast Mariners Academy players Northern Fury FC players Sutherland Sharks FC players Sydney United 58 FC players Living people National Premier Leagues players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Sydney 21st-century Australian sportsmen