United Kingdom recruits Tom Aldred and Macaulay Gillesphey have been brushing up on their Australian slang.
Aldred and Gillesphey – two of the four UK-born players brought to Australia for the first time by Robbie Fowler in the transfer window – arrived Down Under in June from Motherwell and Carlisle United respectively.
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The two defenders caught up with Brisbane Roar fullback Jack Hingert earlier this week – watch the video below as the pair try to determine the meaning of a ‘shoey’ and attempt to use ‘crikey’ in a sentence!
Feature image courtesy of Brisbane Roar on YouTube
‘I’m loving being back’: Hingert
When he’s not grilling his teammates on their Australian vocabulary, Hingert is going through the final stages of rehab from the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament he sustained against Sydney FC in February.
The 28-year-old underwent surgery on his right knee following that famous upset win over the Sky Blues six months ago.
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Hingert is able to run and participate in ball work but is restricted from doing full contact at training.
“I’m loving being back involved with the boys… the banter, just getting involved with the ball, everything. It’s been great for me and it’s helped me a lot with the motivation as well once you’re back involved, you just feel that bit closer,” he said.
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When you’re allowed to start getting more involved with the lads at training ???? #buzzing #aclcomeback pic.twitter.com/xhKiJ9Kt8i
— Jack Hingert (@hingert19) August 19, 2019
? @hingert19's recovery from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament is tracking nicely as the @ALeague season draws closer.
? https://t.co/OkRUmEjzjA#RoarAsOne pic.twitter.com/p3VGttFklE
— Brisbane Roar (@brisbaneroar) August 22, 2019
Sky’s the limit for Phoenix
The ‘Cake Tin’ will have a new name from the 1st of January 2020 – Sky Stadium.
Sky TV has secured naming rights for the home ground of Wellington Phoenix for a reported six years.
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The Wellington Regional Stadium was originally called Westpac Trust Stadium following its opening in 2000, and is now called Westpac Stadium, with the sponsor relationship with the bank being the longest in New Zealand sport.
But that contract expires at the end of this year and the Sky Network will take over the naming rights for the waterfront ground, which has a capacity of 34,500.
Our home fortress will have a new name! ?
Congratulations @SKYNZ @skysportnz, we look forward to playing on our favourite pitch this season with your name in lights! https://t.co/w1QiPrfkqP
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) August 22, 2019
Glory to go coast-to-coast
The reasons for Perth Glory’s 4,300km journey across Australia are two-fold, according to head coach Tony Popovic.
Perth will travel to Queensland’s Gold Coast next week to take on Hyundai A-League rivals Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets in the inaugural Surf City Cup tournament.
Glory are also set to take part in one of Popovic’s famously demanding training camps.
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“We’ve got a lot of new players that have started at different times and we want to get them out there more often in a training-camp environment and have a few games to practise a few things,” the Perth taskmaster told the club website.
“And off the field, it’s a chance for players to get to know each other which is always important.
“In a camp environment, you’re together 24/7 and at this stage of the year, we feel that’s a real positive for us.
“There’ll be chances for them to spend some time together away from training which is important because we spend so much time together in the season, we want to have a really good spirit and build on what we have so far.”
Perth continued their pre-season preparations with a 9-1 win over Murdoch University Melville FC on Wednesday evening, a match that saw young striker Nick D’Agostino stake his claim by netting a hat-trick inside six second half minutes.
Ninkovic starts as Sydney held by Manly
Milos Ninkovic swatted any lingering concerns over this ankle injury aside by playing 77 minutes in Sydney FC’s 1-1 draw against Manly United on Thursday night.
Ninkovic was cleared of any major damage to his ankle after copping a nasty challenge in the club’s Round of 16 defeat to Brisbane Roar in August 7’s FFA Cup 2019 clash and played the majority of the match before he was substituted by Young Socceroos star Marco Tilio.
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The maestro is back!#SydneyIsSkyBlue #ComeWithUs #SYDvMAN pic.twitter.com/VSgvHTaKKG
— Sydney FC (@SydneyFC) August 22, 2019
Newly-resigned defender Patrick Flottmann opened the scoring for the Sky Blues, while Manly talisman Brendan Cholakian equalised late after good work from former Wellington Phoenix winger Adam Parkhouse.
“I was pleased with the amount of chances we created tonight considering how well Manly United played and how compact they were,” Steve Corica told the club website post-match.
“They were tough to break down and that’s what we’ll need to be prepared for this season, so it was an excellent test for us in those conditions.”
