SOCCER
ASPENDALE Stingrays’ hopes of winning promotion from State 5 South next season have been dealt a hammer blow.Captain and star attacking midfielder Matthew Bruce will head overseas next year and be unavailable for the entire season. The 23-year-old has told just a handful of teammates of his plans but he is expected to speak to the senior playing group when pre-season training gets underway next week.
In the past three seasons Bruce has gone from struggling to get a senior game to one of the most potent midfielders in the competition. This year he added a league best and fairest award to its counterpart at club level.
Bruce hails from South Africa and arrived here in 2010. He had two stints at footy but eventually settled on soccer. He played as a junior for Sandringham and Chelsea – the latter due to his friendship with Nathan Boccari – until a group of schoolmates lured him to Aspendale in 2014.
Bruce’s transition to senior football wasn’t easy. Lee Barber was senior coach from late 2018 to the end of the 2021 season and the youngster rarely featured in his plans. “I couldn’t get a game in the seniors when he was about,” Bruce said. “There was one year that I scored 22 goals in 10 games in the ressies and I got one senior game.
“It was all a bit heart-breaking at the time.”
That changed when Gregor Macnab took over the coaching reins and this season Bruce has thrived in a new position and a new onfield role. “I was primarily a right-sided player but this was my first season in a more central role as an attacking midfielder and I was also made captain this year. “I had discussions around that earlier in the year and Gregor’s feedback was positive so I took it all on board. “As captain I felt that I had to lead by example – that was the biggest responsibility I had to fulfil. “I’m not one to break down a drill or to analyse. “I’d much rather put the ball in the back of the net or chase it down and lead from the front.”
Macnab has maintained a positive outlook heading into pre-season and although acknowledging the size of Bruce’s loss he thinks the senior squad will continue to improve and develop as it has done under his stewardship. “There’s no denying it’s a big loss for the club especially coming off such a fantastic season,” Macnab said. “On the plus side though we’re pretty much well stocked in midfield and we’ve got some talented players coming through. “We’ve also got a couple coming back from long-term injury. “One of them is Sam Timuska-Carr who has a fantastic engine and will be a big asset to the club.”
Bruce shares his coach’s optimism and throughout pre-season training he’ll reinforce a message of belief in what can be achieved in 2025. “Since forming as a senior club we’ve got better and better every season – as a club and as individual players – and for people to keep returning shows the vision we all have. “I think our attacking prowess will help us get over the line and do what we all think we are capable of.”
In VPL1 news Langwarrin has signed Andrew Mullett from Nunawading City. The 30-year-old central defender lists Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City, Oakleigh Cannons, Dandenong Thunder, South Melbourne and Bulleen on his football CV. Langwarrin gaffer Jamie Skelly has not released anyone to make room for the experienced defender. “We are looking to build a squad that is able to compete with strong competition in all positions,” Skelly said.
Meanwhile now former Peninsula Strikers teenager Billy Rae made his debut for his new club Dundee North End last weekend. He now plays at the highest semi-professional level in Scotland and has agreed a one-year deal. Rae cemented his spot in Strikers’ starting 11 this year and began trialling with Dundee North End in October.
In State 4 news something big is brewing down Baxter Park way.
There has been no official ratification of Hayden Taylor’s senior coaching role or that of close friend and football operations manager Jamie O’Halloran. But the word is that will soon be sorted this week when the duo meet with club president Bray Hodgkinson. That meeting was timed to follow the AGM held last Thursday and now Hodgkinson is in a position to confirm that the support Taylor and O’Halloran seek to strengthen the senior men’s program will be forthcoming. Hodgkinson is in the middle of a two-year term as president and his new executive colleagues are Lisa Norris (treasurer) and Molly Curd (secretary).
The general committee consists of Alex Campbell (bar manager), Neville Carter (canteen manager), Brendan Norris (junior coordinator), Peter Blasby, Mandy Blasby, O’Halloran, Mick Surridge and Jono Makoni. The new vice-president is yet to be elected but will come from the general committee.
“I’m extremely excited by the new committee, a really committed and fresh-minded group that is willing to push in the same direction,” Hodgkinson said. “With the success of our junior program it was important to me to have the right people on board which I think we have achieved. “There is a lot of football experience with the likes of ‘Blas’ and Jamie which will be extremely valuable for all of our programs moving forward.
“The sole focus was to get a really great team to assist me in my role as I’m becoming a first-time dad in the next few weeks so ensuring I had the right people there while I make that transition was really vital. “We aim to keep offering a fantastic junior program and continue to find the right pieces for our senior puzzle. “As things stand I think we are making big moves to improve our squad next season while also shifting to a real development focus for the crop of young talent we have started to build over the past two seasons. “We have had a good go at promotion over those seasons which culminated in a lot of really important lessons and built a solid foundation to succeed so we only need a few inclusions to really put ourselves in contention to win games.”
When it comes to asking the club what players it is chasing the cone of silence famously linked with iconic spy comedy Get Smart is firmly in place but like its TV counterpart it doesn’t work that well. You can back it in that Baxter’s number one signing priority is Mornington ace David Stirton. The 33-year-old is mulling over whether to combine playing and assistant coaching roles. “I’ve decided that if I’m going to play it will have to be a one-night-a-week thing now as I’m getting too many injuries,” Stirton said. “Genetics and scar tissue from previous injuries don’t help. “I’m in two minds about the Baxter offer but it could provide an insight into transitioning into coaching.”
Others are firmly on Baxter’s radar and the club has been tapping in to the contacts of former Mornington and Pines player Marinos Panayi who won the State 2 South-East championship with Bayside Argonauts last season. There’s no suggestion that Panayi himself will sign with Baxter but he’s acted as a go-between for other possible signings.
Watch this space.
In other news former Langwarrin president Tanya Wallace features in upcoming episodes of Channel Nine’s weekly documentary series Emergency which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes view of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Wallace is a clinical nurse specialist in the emergency department and appears in episodes 2, 5 and 6.
Episode 2 airs on Thursday at 8.30pm.
