Robert Cornthwaite

Born in Blackburn, England on 24 October 1985, Robert moved to Australia and began his youth career at NSL club Adelaide City. He would begin his senior career with The Zebras before making short stints at fellow Adelaide clubs Enfield City Falcons and White City Woodville before signing for Adelaide United at the start of the inaugural Hyundai A-League season in 2005. Cornthwaite won the premiership in the 2005/06 season and would go on to make 103 appearances for the Reds in six years, enjoying key roles in United’s 2008/09 Grand Final-making season and 2008 AFC Champions League Final run. The towering centre-back signed for Jeonnam Dragons in 2011 and made 91 appearances for the K-League outfit before joining Selangor in the Malaysian Super League in early 2015, eventually resulting in selection for a Malaysian XI side that hosted English giants Tottenham Hotspur in a pre-season match. Robert made his first of eight international appearances for the Socceroos on 4 March 2009 against Kuwait in an AFC Asian Cup qualifier and scored his first goal against South Korea in a 2-1 friendly win in 2012. Wanting to come home to Australia, Robert signed for Western Sydney Wanderers on 14 July 2016 on a two-year deal, making his debut against Sydney FC in Round 1 of the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season. Cornthwaite quickly became an important part of the Wanderers defence appearing in 21 clashes across competitions and scored a double, his first goals for the Red & Black, in Round 25 against Newcastle Jets.