WA boys on national selectors' radar after successful championships

Football West News 1753237747,1753766163

Western Australia’s strong showing at the CommBank Emerging Socceroos Championships is set to be reflected in future national camps.

That is the view of Football West Football Development Officer Neil Kilkenny, who was highly complimentary about the boys’ efforts in Melbourne.

NFC 25 — Football West Football Development Officer Neil Kilkenny watches the WA Boys U16s in action at the recent CommBank Emerging Socceroos Championships. Photo by Mark Avellino/Football Australia

Kilkenny was head coach of the State Under 16s side that reached the final at the national talent identification championships. The U15s, under John Walmsley, made the semi-final, with Aaron Black named Goalkeeper of the Tournament.

Kilkenny said: “I spoke with new Joeys head coach Carl Veart. We had a couple of conversations about some of our players and, hopefully, there will be quite a few identified.

“The longer the tournament went on, you could feel the boys become more comfortable in their surroundings and they realised they were meant to be there. They had good exposure – the more games you play, the more eyes there are on you. The final is a big thing, playing on the big pitch in front of a big crowd. It’s a different kind of challenge.”

Kilkenny, who oversees the Boys program at the Football West Academy, said the teams benefited from the extensive preparation going into the championships.

“I want to thank the local clubs for their support. They were very helpful with their players, and it helped us a lot," he said.

“I came away from the championships with a really positive feeling about how the boys from both age groups adapted.

“They experienced a lot of things they maybe hadn’t before, such as playing in a tournament environment, playing against the best players in Australia, and playing under pressure. The boys dealt with it fantastically well. Everything we worked on over the previous 14 weeks came to fruition.

National Futsal Championships — Aaron Black was named U15s Goalkeeper of the Tournament. Photo by Mark Avellino/Football Australia

“I also had a lot of feedback that the boys conducted themselves really well and showed a high level of professionalism off the pitch, such as at the hotel and around the Home of the Matildas venue.

“It’s not just the football. You have to show professionalism in looking after yourself, how you behave around the hotel, making sure you’re respectful to people around you and the boys did exactly that.