John Roberts

Central Coast Mariners

2018/19 A-League Minutes for Players 21 and Under: 5,616 (Second in A-League)

Home Ground: Pluim Park

Head Coach: Nick Montgomery

Squad: Aidan Munford, Brad Tapp, Dan Hall, Matthew Hatch, Bilal Belkadi, Mikey Katsoulis, Kyle Johnson, Jordan Smylie, Dylan Ruiz-Diaz, Harry McCarthy, James Bayliss, Alou Kuol, Joey Jevtic, Max Balard, Damien Tsekenis, Alex Parsons, Zenden Hart, Lewis Miller, John Roberts,

2018/19 Season: Third in Conference B. Five wins, no draws, three losses and a goal difference of +2.

Best Y-League Result: Premiers (2011/12)

Young Player to watch: John Roberts

One of the most intriguing prospects in the Y-League in 2019/20, Mariners scholar Roberts has already been on the books of both Melbourne City and Western Sydney Wanderers in his fledgling career.

A refugee born in the Guinean city of Conakry after his parents fled Sierra Leone, Roberts has previously captained Australia at a junior international level and most recently played a key role as the Young Socceroos booked a place at the 2020 AFC U19 Championships.

The youngster was recruited to Gosford after leaving the Wanderers mid-2019 and landing with NPL NSW club Mt Druitt Town Ranges – his boyhood club – where he found the back of the net three times in 11 appearances in the NSW topflight.

Having impressed Nick Montgomery and Alen Stajčić enough to earn a place in the Mariners Academy in 2019/20, the pressure will be on for Roberts to begin to put it all together and harness his immense talent into a push for senior minutes in the year ahead.

PLUS...

Y-League returns as vital reform looms

The nation’s premier junior competition, the Y-League returns to action this weekend for its twelfth season, with the subject of Australia’s youth development, pathways to senior football and philosophical approach to development a hot topic amongst the footballing public.

Canberra United

2018/19 A-League Minutes for Players 21 and Under: N/A

Home Ground: McKellar Park/Deakin Stadium

Head Coach: Ray Junna

Squad: Aiden Milicevic, Gian Fiorese, Jackson Paesler, Joe Lawless, Jordan Host, Lachlan Griffiths, Luca Florez, Luca Macor, Michael Piccolo, Nicholas Faust, Nikolau Udjur, Robert Tkatchenko, Sam Brown, Willem Lejeune, Zac Berbatano, Badreldin Abbas, Roy Anderson

2018/19 Season: Fifth in Conference B. No wins, one draw and seven losses with a goal difference of -16.

Best Y-League Result: Fifth in Conference B (2017/18, 2018/19)

Young Player to watch: Zac Barbatano

Times have been tough for Canberra United since they entered the Y-League as the replacement for the now-closed FFA Centre of Excellence side, but, nonetheless, Berbatano is looking to become the latest talented player to emerge from the nation’s capital.

Debuting with Gungahlin United in the senior ACT NPL competition at just 15-years-old back in 2018 – putting his hand up to take a 95th-minute penalty in just his second game in the ACT’s topflight – he was a part of Canberra’s side for all eight of their games during the 2018/19 Y-League season and scored one of their four goals.

The striker made a further 18 appearances for Gungahlin in 2019 and found the back of the net five times.

Described as “extremely creative and fast thinking” by Gungahlin Head Coach Marcel Munoz, Barbatano will be looking to follow in the footsteps of Canberran based talent such as Ned Zelic, Tom Rogic, Leo Mazis and George Timotheou in the years to come.

The full 2019/20 Foxtel Y-League fixture can be found here