Image: Graeme Furlong
Three players from the NPL Victoria have been selected in a final shortlist of 24 players from the various state leagues around Australia for the inaugural PS4 Player Pathway Award, a year-long search to find the best young player from the NPL in Australia.
The trio, consisting of Midfielder Kristian Trajceski from Hume City, forward Matthew Conversano from Pascoe Vale, and fullback Nicholas Glavan from Melbourne Knights will all participate in a three-day camp to be held from the 26-28th of September, where coaches and scouts from all A-league sides will be in attendance.
The players will be judged by a panel consisting of PS4 NPL ambassador John Kosmina, current Sydney FC NYL head coach Rob Stanton, chairman of the PFA Craig Foster, and current Socceroos assistant Ante Milicic.
Six key competencies of the game will be determined, including a winning mentality, decision making, body and ball control, emotional stability, and personality.
The selections were a result of season-long polling of coaches from every club in the NPL Victoria, who were asked to vote on who they felt were the top three young footballers in their respective federations.
Conversano, 18, made 17 appearances for Pascoe Vale this season, scoring twice – including his maiden top-flight goal – to help his side finish in 7th place for the season.
Trajceski, also 18, was a constant for Hume City this season, making 22 appearances, scoring 3 goals from midfield in a breakout campaign for the midfielder.
Glavan made the most appearances of the trio, 23 for the Knights, whilst also scoring twice himself in a solid season for the 20-year-old fullback since joining from Melbourne Victory’s NPL side.
If deemed to be the most talented of the 24 players at the camp, one of these players will find themselves being handed a prestigious two-week trial at A-League side Sydney FC.