AFW had 5 mad minutes with Melbourne’s young custodian
You-re 20 and you wear the No.20 shirt, that-s quite a coincidence…
Yeah, it is a bit weird, but I think all the goalies in the league wear 20, 30 and 40. I don-t quite understand why, I suppose I-ve done alright to get the No. 20 as it-s better than last year. I-m happy with my number; it-s serving me alright.
You-re one of the youngest players in the first team squad; do you get ripped by the older guys?
All the young boys cop a fair bit of stick, but it-s all good fun and we give a fair bit back as well.
You-re a Leo; they-re meant to be bossy, are you?
I don-t think so.
It would be helpful as a keeper, though.
You-ve got to do that on the field – boss people around, tell people what to do, that-s part of the job, I guess.
Who-s loudest player in the dressing room?
Michael Theoklitos, Kevin Muscat and Tom Pondeljak are the loudest – they-re always having jokes.
What-s the best thing to happen at training recently?
We-ve been playing this game where you chip the ball onto the crossbar from the edge of the 18-yard box and you have to try hit it on the crossbar. We-re all shocking and Archie always manages to get it first time.
But you can tell them you-re a goalie and it-s not your thing…
[Laughs.] Yeah, I end up spraying it into the stands.
Who has the best nickname at the club?
I-d have to say Sebastian Ryall, his nickname is Humphrey the Bear because he doesn-t say too much.
Aside from the word victory, what-s the first word that comes in to your head beginning with ‘V-?
Virgin.
Lovely. If you faced 10 Kevin Muscat penalties, how many would you save?
Ten penalties? I-d say 10. In reality, it would be two.
He-d say zero wouldn-t he?
Yeah, he would say zero but I-d say 10 [laughs].
Evan Berger said everyone has to sing when they join the team; what did you do?
Everyone has to do it on their first away trip; I did Wonderwall by Oasis and it was probably the worst performance ever. There-s been a few shockers from the boys – it-s good to get it out of the way so you can sit back and laugh. I was more nervous doing that than my debut.
Speaking of Evan, what-s your ultimate burger?
Patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce – pretty standard, really.
What three people would you invite to a dinner party?
Firstly I-d say Beckham, Hermione out of Harry Potter…
Hermione? Who-s that?
You know, Hermione? The bird?
OK, fair enough. We-re from a different generation, obviously.
Yep, she-s quality. And… what-s another bird I could take? A blonde bird… Jessica Simpson.
What are you listening to on your MP3 player at the moment?
It-s pretty random; I just put it on shuffle and see what comes up. I got a few of Michael Theoklitos- songs – too much Greek in there – so I have to skip them.
If you had to be stuck on a desert island with one of your teammates who would it be?
Probably Sebastian Ryall, because he-s my flatmate and a funny bloke.
Plus he-d crack it if you didn-t take him. If you weren-t a goalie what would you be instead?
Probably at uni, bumming around, not working [laughs], living at home with Mum and Dad.
Favourite Star Wars movie?
Never watched any in my life.
What? Really? This generation… Who-s your tip for the EPL and the A-League this year?
EPL will be Manchester United, even though my favourite team is Blackburn and for the A-League it-s going to be very close, but I think we-re going to win it.
