Kealey Adamson is repaying the faith at Macarthur Bulls, where he is establishing himself as one of the best young defenders in the Isuzu UTE A-League. He chats to aleagues.com.au about his rapid rise.
“Do or die”. That was Kealey Adamson’s scenario.
Now among the best young full-backs in the Isuzu UTE A-League and one of the first names on the Macarthur Bulls team sheet, it was only 14 months ago that he was talking with NPL clubs about his next move, such has been his rise.
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Adamson burst onto the scene with Sydney FC in their triumphant Australia Cup campaign but the 21-year-old knew there was no chance his short-term contract would be extended in the Harbour City before Macarthur Bulls pounced.
“It was very much like do or die,” he reflected in an interview with aleagues.com.au.
Adamson made a name for himself in five Australia Cup appearances but his Sydney fate was sealed after a Round of 16 win over NPLM NSW outfit APIA Leichhardt.
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“There was no space or no position, but I knew I was still eligible for those games,” said the Australia youth international, who went on to feature in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the tournament.
“So very much felt like I was in the shopfront window and the better the team did, and the more I could contribute to that, it was like just get myself in the shop front window and trying to get myself that foot in the door for professional football.
“So it’s good when I read the message from Bulls after the Grand Final of the that cup run, it was very like, it’s almost like a relief, like, all the hard work come to fruition.”
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It was high stakes for Adamson in pursuit of a professional contract. He embraced the situation at Sydney FC. In fact, he loved it.
“I think it made that block of maybe six weeks of games and training, I think I was training and playing with non-stop energy because I know they say play every game like it’s your last or every training,” he said. “But that actually was literal there. So I actually enjoyed the pressure.
“I got to also take a pressure penalty in that first game on debut and I feel like I got to use a lot of skills I developed in my youth football during that period of time, and it felt like the resilience paid off.
“So it’s made now the stability of being at the Bulls, I’ve been able to focus on different things and contributing in different ways and maturing more of a plan in that way that felt like a trial by fire, like a real kind of mentality, mentality challenge.”
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When his Sydney stint concluded, Adamson was in discussions with NPL clubs in New South Wales before Macarthur came calling at the start of December 2023.
It was far from a smooth situation, though. The chance to move to another A-Leagues club appeared out of reach with the transfer window shut and the youngster not eligible to play until January.
Now, Adamson is thriving in Campbelltown.
The defender has started all 16 of Macarthur’s A-Leagues matches in 2024-25, playing every single minute while scoring his maiden goal in the top flight. Last season, he featured 13 times for the Bulls.
“It was a kind of weird period of time after (his short Sydney FC experience). I was on holiday and then everyone else is around four and five months of the season, and everyone’s in the thick of it,” he said.
“I think just the stability, I just feel like being able to compare my growth with all my peers, people around me, just because you’re playing every single week, so you get that kind of instant feedback.
“We’ve been building towards something the whole season, as opposed to even last season, I think the goals are very different for me, because I came in mid-season, it was really about earning the starting spot, earning those minutes, showing that I was worth the gamble.
“This season just feels very different that even the feedback and the instructions from the coaches is different. It’s more about what I can add, as opposed to what I need to do to be at the level.
“Being on the field, being able to be responsible for our results is massive. This season compared to maybe last season, a bit of on and off the bench. This season I’ve been able to pretty much play every single minute. I feel very responsible for every win. But also you feel every loss a lot more. Playing consistency has been top for me this year.”
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Adamson is in an environment that during the January transfer window alone has seen three Bulls products earn overseas moves – Jed Drew, Ariath Piol and Oliver Jones.
It is motivation for the Australia Under-23 international. It is also further proof that his dreams are closer to becoming reality.
“That’s the dream to get that move, kick on further, become a Socceroo. That’s the best way to do it,” he said.
“Seeing my closest mates in the team get those moves, earn those moves, just makes everything feel closer. It’s not like you’re coming out of youth environment and that the move seems daunting or far away now, really something you can speculate on and feels real.
“You can touch it almost.”
Adamson is a player at the top of his game. This season, he ranks first among defenders for tackles won (42), duels (199), duels won (120), while he is second for possession won (75), recoveries (75) and own half take-ons (25).
It comes as Subway Socceroos head coach Tony Popovic casts his eye over the A-Leagues. The former Melbourne Victory, Perth Glory and Western Sydney Wanderers head coach has not been afraid to reward players in the domestic competition.
Hayden Matthews (Sydney FC), Luke Brattan (Macarthur Bulls), Anthony Caceres (Sydney FC) and Nishan Velupillay (Melbourne Victory have all debuted since his September appointment.
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“Seeing Popa’s willingness to take a chance on youth,” Adamson said. “Seeing Haydo’s playing as well, especially just only being two years from he was my right-sided centre-back at Sydney NPL, so seeing him make that move, everything everything feels closer.
“The football world feels like it’s shrinking a lot now. So it’s just super positive for me to see, and it feels like something I can strive towards.”
Adamson is pursuing a dream made possible by his parents.
His father is from Tanzania and arrived in Australia with the defender’s mother before he was born.
Football was all his dad ever knew and Adamson caught the eye early in his junior days. But there was a “stressful” moment when he was playing Under-11s.
At the time, Adamson and his family were living at his grandparents home while his father still tried to established himself in Australia and $2,500 was needed to pay his junior registration.
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“Dad was making phone calls with mum and trying to move money from a couple of accounts to try and sort that out,” he said.
“I think my first step into NPL was very lucky. I think a lot of things had to line up for me to be able to even make that step into that space.”
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Adamson, smiling, added: “I think I justified the 50 minutes of stress and that couple hours of transport.
“I think we’ve justified it now. They’re both super proud. They’re always going to, even if I didn’t kick on, they’re always going to kind of support me in any decision I made, but I really feel like it’s definitely a motivation for me. I feel like I owe it to them, because it’s such a big commitment on their behalf, and I just want to do it 100% and take it as far as I can.
“Hopefully one day (I can) pay back that rego.”
Adamson was sitting down for his interview two hours before a U13 coaching session, having also completed his training commitments with the Bulls.
Yes, a coaching session. Not only is Adamson an A-Leagues footballer, he is also a coach at his junior club Northern Tigers.
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“I don’t know how I don’t go crazy actually because you think of football 24/7,” he laughed.
In the eyes of his girlfriend and parents, it’s too much time dedicated to thinking about the game, however, Adamson is in his third year coaching the Tigers.
It is not only a case of giving back to his former club, it is proving beneficial for his own development.
“I think when I started, when I first came out of high school and signed an NPL contract with Sydney, because of the way the schedule works, you kind of train in the morning, and there’s a lot of time throughout the day,” Adamson said.
“The option was there for maybe part-time uni or pick up another part-time job.
“I think it was kind of a no-brainer for me to pick up football coaching at that time. Kind of a supplementary wage to the youth allowance that we get. It started off as that. We spend so long playing the game that’s where a lot of my skills lies within football so it felt like a no-brainer.
“I really enjoyed it that year. I found some parts of it were beneficial. Maybe not the 35 degree days when I’ve got the boys out, I’m standing out in the sun thinking, man I’ve gotta get myself in the shade, get myself ready for my training. Maybe not that, but I think just still being so close to the start of a lot of these kids’ football journeys, it gives you a big energy boost.
“They’re the reason I’m still doing it because hopefully I get to move on and my career takes me further, takes me overseas. So I think while I’m still here, still in the area, I want to give back as much to my club where I spent so many years.”
So, what kind of coach is Adamson?
“We got promoted from NPL2 to NPL1 in the youth so the whole group’s gone up. I think I like to play out, but it’s also good teaching these boys a bit of direct footy.
“I think they spend their whole SAP program playing out from the back and conceding goals playing out. I don’t mind teaching them the dark arts.”
