HONOURING THE ELITE - FOOTBALL NSW AWARDS NIGHT

BY CONNOR STEPHENS

A grand total of 47 awards were presented to Clubs and Individuals for Football NSW’s awards night, to celebrate a highly successful 2023 season.

Over 900 guests flocked to the Star Event Centre on Thursday 21 September as every senior league was celebrated with style, and many clubs and players celebrated their success in what can only go down as the best Football NSW awards night of all time.

Starting with the Goal of the Year, there were many fabulous strikes up for the award, including a game winning bicycle kick from Golden Boot winner Alec Urosevski, but the deserving winner would be Richie Darko of the NWS Spirit with an extra time belter to give his side a 5-4 win in Round 9 against the Wollongong Wolves.

As mentioned above, Alec Urosevski of Rockdale Ilinden took out the Golden Boot award for the NPL NSW competition, with a grand tally of 27 Goals. Veteran Ivan Necevski of APIA Leichhardt took out the Goalkeepers award as he proved to be a general between the sticks all season long, leading his side to the title.

APIA Leichhardt coach Franco Parisi took out Coach of the Year unsurprisingly, guiding his troops to a dominating season.

Urosevski would add to his Golden Boot award, also taking out Player of the Year honours as “The Baker” led his team to a 2nd place finish.

For the Women's competition, Ashlie Crofts of APIA Leichhardt also completed the “Awards Double”, winning both the Golden Boot and Player of the Year accolades. Romina Parraguirre of Gladesville Ravens would win the Goalkeeper award, whereas Stephen Peters of Macarthur Rams won the Coach of the Year.

Max Middleby of the Central Coast Mariners is one to watch for the future, winning the NPL NSW U20 Player of the Year, and since winning the award, has earned selection to the Australian Under-19 side. Representing the Australian Under-18’s back in June, the utility scored the winner against Norway, and big things are expected for this kid's future.

Middleby will represent the Young Socceroos next month in the prestigious Marbella week of Football tournament, held in Marbella, Spain. They will play games against France, Netherlands and Denmark. Best of luck to Max and the team!

On behalf of SportsBlock, congratulations to all award winners, and congratulations to Football NSW for putting together such a successful season, and a captivating awards night to celebrate everybody’s success!