Western Sydney Wanderers FC have confirmed their Football NSW Premier League 1 senior squad ahead of Sunday’s season opener against Central Coast Mariners.
It is exciting times for our young Wanderers, as their first season back in the NPL NSW 1 competition since 2020 begins this weekend!
Yet despite the new surroundings they will clash with a familiar foe when they travel to face the Central Coast Mariners Academy side, in which they fought with closely last season in the FNSW League One competition.
The matchups were always highly anticipated, and the stakes have gone up a notch as the Wanderers now have the Mariners coach for much of last season – Andrew Christiansen – as their head coach.
The change for the boys in red and black hasn’t been limited to the dugout, with Christiansen bringing in a host of new players to align with the style of football he wants to play; Teng Kuol has followed his old coach from Central Coast, whilst Edmond Lupancu has joined from the Melbourne Victory.
Ariath Piol, Mason Fernandez, Ryan Devin and Jesse Cameron are the
other new players in the squad.
But there is still plenty of the exciting talent from last season ready to take on the NPL this season.
George Antonis, Liam Bonetig and recent first team debutant Marcus Younis are all set to back up and play key roles in the side, whilst others such as Max Hately and Filip Dimovski have been promoted from an U20s side that won the grand final against the Mariners last year.
There will also be some familiar faces in the Mariners side that they will face this weekend, with Gianni and Miguel Di Pizio, as well as Jakov Malbasa swapping red & black for yellow and navy in the offseason.
Many neutrals will be keenly waiting for this match to see whether the two academy sides can recreate their close match ups from last season, which included a 4-3 thriller where the Mariners won with the last kick of the game. The Wanderers will be hoping their next trip to Pluim Park will be a more positive one.
Western Sydney Wanderers Premier League 1 Squad
Goalkeeper:William Loucas
Defenders: Liam Bonetig, Jesse Cameron, Matthew O’donoghue, Yohan D’Souza, Luca Pecora, Edmond Lupancu, Will McKay, Jok Akuien, Yannis Frerck, Ryan Devin, Thomas Furlong
Midfielders: George Antonis, Mason Fernandez, Luke Nieuwenhof, Ryley Hollingdale, Adam Bugarija, Frans Deli, William Freney, Edmund Haddad
Forwards: Teng Kuol, Ariath Piol, Max Hately, Marcus Younis, Filip Dimovski, Farah Koko
Match Details
Central Coast Mariners v Western Sydney Wanderers
Sunday 5 February, 3:00pm
Pluim Park
