In a league with an ever-growing emphasis on youth development, teams across the A-League Men are getting younger and playing the kids. While we have seen quality youngsters receive plaudits for their excellent performances, Front Page Football has put together a list focusing on those who have arguably flown under the radar so far, touching on players 23 or younger who have impressed this season.
Patrick Beach - Melbourne City
Age: 21
Position: Goalkeeper
Patrick Beach (left) with a couple of Melbourne City supporters following the 1-0 win over Western United. (Image: Aleksandar Jason/Melbourne City)
Clubs can often be hesitant to blood an inexperienced goalkeeper, making it a position that can typically prove challenging for young players to earn minutes. While various teams across the league can be considered guilty in this regard, Melbourne City have shown a willingness to take a chance on a young goalkeeper, particularly after the development and eventual departure of Tom Glover.
Last season, having joined the club from the Central Coast Mariners, Patrick Beach was limited to bench appearances as a backup to the experienced Jamie Young. After re-signing with the club in the off-season, it seemed Young would likely remain as Aurelio Vidmar's number one. But Vidmar has backed Beach so far this season, and it has certainly been a positive move for the team.
While Young has proven to be a consistently good shot-stopper in the A-League for a decade, his distribution and sweeping abilities in City's possession-based system came into question at certain points last season. This factor has seemingly been a key reason why Beach has been trusted to start this season.
Beach has also proven to be a more than capable shot-stopper, recording three clean sheets across his four games for the club so far, a 75% save percentage, and 0.57 goals prevented (both stats in the 75th percentile among all A-League Men's goalkeepers). He has shown the capabilities of the modern goalkeeper that are becoming increasingly demanded in world football.
Often playing a high line while maintaining possession in the opposition half, Beach has swept loose balls in behind the defence on four occasions, placing him in the 81st percentile among all goalkeepers. Additionally, he is amongst the best in his position for accurate long balls and passing accuracy; comfortable and capable of distributing the ball to his teammates.
Although many fans will remember Beach's infamous mistake in the Melbourne Derby, which resulted in Melbourne Victory's third goal, his persistence in continuing to play from the back in the following games has been excellent to witness. Mistakes are often natural and necessary for many young goalkeepers, something City is clearly willing to deal with after weighing up how Beach contributes and enables his team to play their desired style.
While Beach has been the standout young goalkeeper this season, Dylan Peraić-Cullen (18) has been impressive for the Central Coast Mariners, stepping up to the starting role in net following Danny Vukovic's retirement.
Isaac Hughes - Wellington Phoenix
Age: 20
Position: Centre-back
Isaac Hughes has played every minute of Wellington's 2024/25 A-League Men season thus far. (Image: Tahlia Daly)
Limited to 398 A-League Men minutes last season, Isaac Hughes impressed when he was given the opportunity for a rock-solid Wellington Phoenix defence. Finishing second in the league and losing in heart-breaking fashion to Melbourne Victory in the semi-finals, Giancarlo Italiano's squad, full of breakout stars, was unsurprisingly picked apart by various overseas clubs in the off-season.
With the departures of Alex Paulsen and towering central defender Finn Surman, it remained unclear how the Phoenix would attempt to replace these key players. Chiefy has primarily used some of the young players he already had at his disposal, giving them a chance to start after biding their time.
Hughes has been a standout for the Phoenix, starting all five games so far at centre-back. While stepping into Surman's position in the side, Hughes has quite a different player profile. He is around six feet tall and a relatively smaller and more mobile defender than Surman.
Hughes has been particularly impressive on the ball, ranking amongst the top centre-backs in the league for successful passes, pass accuracy, and touches. He is also a very capable ball-winner, ranking fairly high for tackles won, duels won, and interceptions.
Often a difficulty for young centre-backs, Hughes' notable weakness so far has been his win rate in aerial duels, an area that he will need to work on. However, he is thankfully partnered alongside Scott Wootton, who is more capable in this department. This will help Hughes, who will likely improve in the air with age and get stronger as a defender overall.
Along with Hughes, Matthew Sheridan (20) has also impressed for Wellington this season while often playing as a third centre-back. Beyond the Nix, Panagiotis Kikianis (19) will seemingly be a mainstay at the back for Adelaide United this season, another young centre-back with strong ball-playing capabilities. The youthful centre-half partnership of Kane Vidmar (20) and Dylan Leonard (17) also deserves an honourable mention. They are two promising players who will continue improving and growing over Western United's season.
Kealey Adamson - Macarthur FC
Age: 21
Position: Right-back
Kealey Adamson during Macarthur's 2-1 win over Sydney FC in Round 4. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
After contributing to a second straight Australia Cup triumph, Kealey Adamson has continued his excellent form into the A-League Men season. Joining Macarthur midway through last season from Sydney FC, Adamson received fairly consistent minutes while adapting to the senior level.
While he performed relatively well in his first half-season with the Bulls, a full off-season under Mile Sterjovski has seen Adamson reach new heights in 2024/25. An energetic and tenacious full-back, he offers a bit of everything down the right side.
Adamson has currently recorded the most successful dribbles (9), touches (397), and accurate long balls (13) among full-backs in the league - while also placing high in expected goals and assists; a full-back who enjoys going forward.
While Adamson has impressed with his attacking game, he is arguably better on the defensive end. He ranks at the top of all full-backs for tackles won (14) and duels won (40) and sits amongst the highest percentiles for aerial duels won (71st), interceptions (86th), and recoveries (91st). Adamson's physical attributes and defensive understanding make him a tough match-up for opposing wingers.
Worthy of a mention, Charbel Shamoon (20) performed well while covering for Ben Garuccio at left-back for Western United and will now attempt to dislodge Tate Russell's starting position at right-back. Nathan Walker (18) of Wellington Phoenix has also been impressive this season; a natural winger who has displayed great versatility to play as a full-back or wing-back - a hallmark of Italiano's playing style.
Dylan Scicluna - Western Sydney Wanderers
Age: 20
Position: Central midfielder
Dylan Scicluna has started three of the Western Sydney Wanderers' first five games in 2024/25. (Image: Harley Appezzato)
Returning to Australia last season after a long stint at Wolverhampton Wanderers' youth academy, the signing of young midfielder Dylan Scicluna looked promising for the Western Sydney Wanderers. However, Scicluna had a somewhat mixed first season in Wanderland, primarily being utilised as a full-back by former head coach Marko Rudan.
The arrival of Alen Stajcic presented an opportunity for Scicluna to prove himself worthy of being used in the midfield, something he has successfully done despite the side's struggles so far. Scicluna has displayed a versatile and well-rounded skillset as a central midfielder, offering different qualities in both boxes.
Defensively, Scicluna is amongst the top midfielders in the league for tackles won (13), duels won (36), and recoveries (33); a very combative player who does not shy away from battles in the middle of the park.
In addition, Scicluna is a technically gifted player who enjoys having the ball at his feet. He can drive and dribble through pressure to release the ball to teammates. Scicluna ranks in the 94th percentile for accurate long balls, 75th percentile for chances created, and 73rd percentile for expected assists.
Recently called up to the Maltese senior national team after representing the nation at the U19 and U21 levels, Scicluna is a significant talent who could be a big loss for Australia—whom he has previously represented at the U20 level.
Thankfully for the Socceroos' future, Scicluna is only one of many talented young midfielders who have shown their quality in the A-League Men this season. While Melbourne Victory's midfield partnership of Ryan Teague (22) and Jordi Valadon (21) have rightfully received plaudits for their performances, the likes of Adelaide United's Ethan Alagich (20), Melbourne City's Zane Schreiber (19), and Brisbane Roar's Sam Klein (20) have also all impressed for their respective sides.
Liam Gillion - Auckland FC
Age: 22
Position: Left winger
Liam Gillion has been a revelation for Steve Corica's table-topping Auckland FC. (Image: Sourced from Auckland FC X)
One of the many players who were an unknown entity to many Australian fans upon joining the A-League Men's competition with expansion club Auckland FC, Liam Gillion has caught the eyes of many so far.
After an excellent campaign with Auckland City in the New Zealand National League, notably scoring in his side's 4-0 victory in the OFC Champions League Final, Gillion had more than earned the opportunity to play professionally.
While some other young New Zealanders have largely struggled for minutes in a side filled with top-quality and experienced players, Gillion has played almost all available minutes for Auckland.
He has cemented his starting spot at left wing, offering a constant threat for his side with his electric speed and relentless running. This has perfectly suited Steve Corica's largely counter-attacking style, which he has adopted for the new club.
The 22-year-old is amongst some of the best in his position for non-penalty xG (1.50), shots (13), successful dribbles (6), and touches in the opposition box (24). While Gillion's lack of chance conversion is undoubtedly an area for improvement, often over-thinking or over-dribbling when presented with opportunities in the box, he has shown the ability to do it before.
The winger has scored 40 goals since 2021 and notably averaged a goal contribution every 114 minutes in his final half-season with Auckland City. If Gillion can find the goal-scoring form that saw him tear up New Zealand's domestic leagues, it would be a scary prospect for A-League Men defenders to come up against the recently capped All-White.
Moving across the Tasman, Austin Ayoubi (23) has been a revelation in the same position for Adelaide United after an excellent pre-season under Carl Veart. Some other younger standout wingers have been Adrian Segecic (20), who has impressed when he has featured for a stacked Sydney FC side. Meanwhile, Khoa Ngo (18) has shown signs off the bench and recently impressed in his first start for Perth Glory against Western United.
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Eli Adams - Newcastle Jets
Age: 22
Position: Attacker
Newcastle's Eli Adams (right) challenges for possession with Central Coast Mariners youngster Sasha Kuzevski (left) in the F3 Derby. (Image: Brock Pearson Photography)
After a largely stagnant two-season spell with Melbourne Victory following his departure from Brisbane Roar, Eli Adams has finally started to show us what he is all about at the A-Leagues level.
Unable to earn consistent minutes competing with top-quality and experienced attackers in Melbourne, the Newcastle Jets signed Adams to a three-year deal in the off-season. This was one of a number of attacking signings made by the club in an attempt to replace the departing Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.
Since joining the club, Adams has become a key figure in Rob Stanton's attack, featuring in nearly all available minutes, often starting on the right wing. While he may begin on the right wing, Adams frequently looks to cut inside on his left foot to either shoot or provide for his teammates—a trait that has proven difficult to stop for opposing defenders.
After catching eyes with a stunning strike cutting in from the right wing against Perth Glory last season, Tony Popovic called Adams the best finisher at the Melbourne Victory - high praise considering his teammates at the time. Adams has already shown that this wasn't a fluke. The 22-year-old notably scored a brace against Macarthur earlier this season, slotting home two beautiful left-footed strikes with a combined xG of 0.25.
Beyond his ball-striking ability, Adams is skilled in 1v1 situations (1.8 successful dribbles per game) and a solid chance creator (1.2 key passes). He has also shown the ability to feature across the frontline, notably starting as one of Newcastle's two strikers against the Mariners, where he looked dangerous and would've recorded a goal or assist if not for an outstanding Brian Kaltak performance.
Similarly to Adams, Ben Gibson (21) has also impressed since joining the Jets in the off-season from APIA Leichhardt, notably assisting both of Adams' goals against Macarthur. Meanwhile, at rivals the Mariners, Bailey Brandtman (19) has become an increasingly important player following another raft of departures for the club: a skilful and versatile talent who can play across the frontline and even in midfield. Zac Sapsford (22) also deserves a mention, starting in Western Sydney's attack, where he is currently recording a goal contribution every 74 minutes.
Statistics sourced from FotMob.
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