Noah Botic is enjoying a career-best season as the Western United striker stakes his claim for a Subway Socceroos call-up. aleagues.com.au looks at the numbers behind the talented Australian’s season so far.
John Aloisi knows a thing or two about being a striker. He also knows what it takes to play for the Subway Socceroos.
Noah Botic is benefiting from that wisdom as the Western United striker enjoys a career-best seaso, with calls for a maiden Socceroos call-up growing louder following his latest goal midweek. It’s that wisdom that could also help solve an issue in Australian football.
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There is a lack of natural number nines, especially ones scoring regularly, in the Australian game as Socceroos boss Tony Popovic scours the globe.
Kusini Yengi is yet to score for Portsmouth this season amid his injury-hit season, while Mitch Duke is gearing up for the 2025 J1 League campaign after a four-goal season with Machida Zelvia – both players were in the last ‘Roos squad.
Motherwell’s Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was not involved in the November international window but has five goals in 16 Scottish Premiership matches this term, while Perth Glory captain and reigning Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot winner Adam Taggart has struck five times in 2024-25.
As for 19-year-old Thomas Waddingham, he just completed a move to Portsmouth.
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Then there is Botic, who returned to Australia in 2021 with Western following a stint with German club Hoffenheim after catching the attention of Manchester United amid mounting interest from fellow powerhouse Bayern Munich.
The 23-year-old is knocking on the door of an international call-up with seven goals in 15 appearances this season. Only Sydney FC star and former Nottingham Forest forward Joe Lolley (8) has scored more goals in the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
“Whether it’s the next Socceroos squad (in March), I’m not sure,” Aloisi told reporters after Botic scored in Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw with two-time reigning champions Central Coast Mariners in Tarneit, where former Western assistant and current Socceroos number two Hayden Foxe was a notable onlooker.
“We’re still trying to get Noah physically to a level. I actually think Noah will be a Socceroo. I do. He just hopefully makes the right choices (with his) career path, hopefully we can help him improve more – because I know that he’s a goalscorer. I’ve said it all along.
“But we’ve got to help him with that. The pressure’s not on Noah, the pressure is on us to help Noah. I think we’re doing a job to help him along with that, and he’s improving all the time.”
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Retired Socceroo Aloisi has urged patience with Botic in 2024-25. A navicular stress fracture cut short his 2023-24 campaign and it left him playing catch-up throughout pre-season.
But the former Hoffenheim youngster is back fit and firing, spearheading a young and exciting Western United outfit, alongside Japanese veteran Hiroshi Ibusuki. He is significantly outscoring his expected goals (xG) figure of 4.66.
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Botic, who was among The Guardian’s 60 best young talents in world football in 2019, is lethal inside the penalty area, with his feet and his head.
He has the joint most non-penalty goals (7) this term, while he has the second-most headed goals (3) behind Macarthur Bulls talisman Valere Germain (4).
This is an Australian talent who has attracted attention throughout his young career, especially after helping the Subway Joeys reach the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, while he was dubbed the next Mark Viduka earlier in this footballing journey.
He is third for goal contributions in the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season (11), only behind Lolley (12) and former Macarthur star Jed Drew (13).
“With Noah, he is a natural number nine and we don’t have too many of them,” Aloisi said previously.
“I don’t want to put a ceiling on where Noah can end up and whether he will be a Socceroo one day, I believe he will.
“But I don’t want to put too much pressure on him yet because he still needs to play games. He is a little bit more mature now and has more experience but he still hasn’t played a lot of football. We want to get football into his legs. Once we do that and he has that, I’m sure he will go to another level.”
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Botic – who has a 59.1% shooting accuracy this season to go with a 25.9% shot conversion rate – is looking a more rounded player this season as he benefits from the presence of two-time Japan international and former Sevilla striker Ibusuki at Ironbark Fields.
He is scoring a goal every 137.4 minutes – a rate better than Drew, Western Sydney Wanderers stars Nicolas Milanovic and Socceroo Brandon Borrello, Wellington Phoenix talisman Kosta Barbarouses, Germain, Sydney FC’s Patryk Klimala and Ibusuki.
Since his A-Leagues debut in 2021 among players aged 23 or younger, Botic has the highest xG (16.19), ranks second for goals scored (18) and is fourth for goal contributions (23). When factoring in all players in that timeframe, he sits third for the most headed goals with Taggart and Ibusuki only managing more.
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Over the course of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s history only considering players below the age of 23, Botic has the third-best goal return, the most headed goals (7) and second-most goals inside the box (16).
It is that body of work and recent form that is set to attract interest from abroad, if not already.
Aloisi has been there and done that – from Portsmouth and Coventry in the UK, to Osasuna and Alaves in Spain. The Aussie icon has vast experience abroad and he is keen to pass on that experience to help Botic get to the next level, with the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup on the horizon.
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“It’s hard for a player, though, to always listen to the coach in terms of what I think is the best career path for them,” Aloisi said. “Because I’m still their coach, so they might be thinking that I’m being a little bit selfish in wanting to keep him here.
“But I believe when I say something – and I’m always honest with people – is that it’s for a reason. It’s not self benefit, it’s to help them. I’m hoping when I talk to Noah, he understands I’m doing the best for Noah.
“I really believe that Noah, if he keeps on playing at this level and improving, he’s got an opportunity of being a Socceroo and maybe going to the next World Cup. But again, at the end of the day he needs to make decisions himself.”