SOCCER HE’S played football in more countries than perhaps any other player on the peninsula and he has a close connection with the Smashing Pumpkins. His career has seen him parade his skills on pitches in England, Scotland, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and he’s spent much of 2021 showing what he’s capable off with a team that calls Lawton Park home. Life for Sammy Orritt started in Doncaster in Yorkshire 28 years ago. Life for Orritt the footballer started in California at the age of three and the Smashing Pumpkins introduced him to the game and provided…
Author: Craig MacKenzie
SOCCER MORNINGTON and Frankston Pines are on the verge of securing promotion. In the worst case scenario that Football Victoria calls off the remainder of the 2021 season due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions then both local clubs will be playing in a higher league next season. Last week FV announced an NPL competitions restructure for 2022 increasing NPL2 from 12 to 14 teams which will see Langwarrin contesting a 26-game season. A strong rumour is that A-League clubs will be placed in NPL2 along with promoted clubs from NPL3. It’s unclear what impact this will have throughout lower leagues especially…
SOCCER ETHAN Sanderson has come a long way in the last six years. The distance between Morpeth in England’s northeast and Mount Martha is almost 16,895 kilometres. In 2015 he made that journey as the Sanderson family settled in the Mornington Peninsula and it didn’t take long for the youngster to start playing the sport he’d grown up with. “Before we came here I played for my local club back home mainly as a defensive midfielder,” Sanderson said. “Initially I trained with Mornington then we met someone here on the Mount Martha committee who knew friends of ours back home…
SOCCER FRANKSTON Pines has been involved in a major squad overhaul as it zeroes in on its first championship success in seven years. Simon Webster and twin brother Scott are believed to have accepted offers from State 3 rival Rowville Eagles while first-choice keeper Aeseli Batikasa expects to be sidelined for the remainder of the season. The knee injury the big Fijian keeper suffered against Brighton has not responded to treatment and he will have an MRI this week. But the news is not all bad for the State 3 leader as head coach Kevin “Squizzy” Taylor has brought in…
SOCCER ALEX Whyte is confident that Peninsula Strikers can finish the season in style. The 22-year-old is back at the club where his career kicked off and can’t wait for a season reboot. “I think we’ve been unlucky in the majority of our games this year,” Whyte said. “We’re just missing that one element that could turn our losses and draws into wins but I’m confident it’ll be coming soon. “We’ve got a lot of quality players and if we ever get back out there we can really finish the season strongly.” The fuse that could ignite the side and…