Hills United FC : New kids on the block in NSW NPL1
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with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Hills United FC are the local club achieving big things in the elite Men ’ s NPL1 competition for 2024 after earning promotion last season from NSW Football League 1 .
The club had humble beginnings back when they kicked off in 1989 after Castle Hills United FC and Baulkham Hills FC
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Yu Okuba picks up Player of the Match . Credit : Hills United FC . |
recognised the strong demand and need for the Hills community to have its own representative football .
This enabled talented players in the local area to play representative football for the district at the highest level possible , plus have a progressive pathway to higher representative honours in the Football Australia pathways system . The local representative teams currently playing for Hills FC have greatly benefited from the increased registrations year on year at a rate of 15 per cent per year . This is great for the club as it provides a higher number of talented youngsters the opportunity to play .
In the men ’ s NPL1 first grade competition this season , the club are currently sitting 11 th out of 16 in a tough 30-week competition that has even seen last year ’ s competition premier ’ s Apia Leichhardt get beaten 6-3 at Landen Stadium vs Blacktown City .
Hills United started the NPL1 competition with a bang with a comprehensive 2-1 win away from home in round 1 vs Sydney Olympic at Belmore Sports Ground . They started the competition flying high carrying the flag for the Hills district and had a strong 4-0 win against Sydney FC ’ s Academy squad . They have had some tough losses though , going down to the Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners Academy squads and current competition leaders Wollongong
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Wolves and Sydney United who will be heading to the National Second Tier in 2025 .
They have given a good account of themselves so far and with former 8 game Socceroo and 256 match NSL veteran Luke Casserley in charge of the club . Luke is back in charge after steering the club to promotion in 2023 and there is an air of confidence that they will be able to have a strong season as they lift the bar and hope to continue from the success of 2023 .
Shrewd signings over the off season including Japanese professional player Yu Okubo and some other professional NPL players such as Sunday Yona , Anthony Frangie , Caleb Jackson-Brown , former Wanderers keeper Will Loucas , Isaac Hovar from Bulls FC , Thomas Lopez and the highly experienced Daniel Petkovski who was a signing from Rockdale Illinden FC , have bolstered a squad that has a good mix of youth and experience for the biggest season campaign in the club ’ s history .
There are several upcoming games that will be important for the club to take points in , including the match at Landen Stadium vs Rockdale Illinden and home to Manly United over the Easter weekend . These are currently placed 5 th and 10 th respectively in the competitions , with a tough road trip of 3 away games to Sutherland Sharks at Seymour Shaw Park on the 6 th April and a showdown with
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Caleb Jackson-Brown interviewed after 4-2- win vs Sydney FC . Credit : NSW Football TV .
NWS Spirit at Christie Park , and St George FC at Rockdale Illinden Sports Centre on Saturday April 20 all looking like pivotal games for the Hills United squad with all 3 matches against sides currently sitting in lower positions on the ladder .
The Hills United squad will be hoping for a successful 2 games at home followed by a very successful road trip that will then leave them in a strong position halfway through the season in the very strong and competitive NSW Men ’ s NPL1 competition for 2024 .
This is indeed looking like a massive and exciting season for the lads from Hills United FC .
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HARPO ’ s MARKS
I shudder to think of how much Peter V ’ landys ’ Las Vegas jaunt cost .
Airfares and accommodation for the four teams ’ 18 or so players , officials , physios , doctors , etcetera .
Then throw in Viscount V ’ landys , Andrew “ Abba-dabba-do ” Abdo ’ s and their staff ’ s costs plus the swag of hangers-on who received all expenses-paid invites to the big shindig .
Oh , yes , and the army of brown tongues from News Corp ’ s newspapers and the electronic media who rocked up all expenses paid .
Not to mention – OK , I will mention , the cost in hiring the stadium – crikey , just rolling out the playing surface would have cost a motza !
And of course , Profligate Peter and his mob would have spent another motza in advertising as well as funding their earlier “ pathfinding ” holidays to Las Vegas . All for what ? It has been estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 televisions in the States turned in to watch the games – and I reckon the great bulk of those viewers were ex-pats from Australia , New Zealand , Britain and the South Pacific Island nations .
Two crap games played on a smallerwidth field , with dangerous short in-goal areas and only a metre or so between the sideline and the fence .
And why the big interest by the NRL in the Yank promotion ?
Money , money , money !
Profligate Pete and Abdo ’ s reasons for taking the game to the Land of the Brave , Home of the Idiots ?
Supposedly to interest the Yanks in the Greatest Game of All but really , just to get the Yanks betting on Australian rugby league .
There ’ s around 360,000,000 Americans and V ’ landys ’ Vampires are hoping to suck a small percentage of the punting blood money out of the joint .
And what will the NRL do with that extra motza ?
Give a big boost to V ’ landys and co ’ s wages , more money to the clubs to give these overpaid players more dosh ?
And supposedly provide funds to boost the struggling old game in the bush which , for decades now , has been sucked dry of promising young players .
I well remember back in the early 80s when your little mute mate was writing for the Sunday Telegraph .
I did a yarn on Manly-Warringah , which in one year brought around 40 promising bush youngsters to the Big Smoke , found them accommodation , schools and spots within its junior league teams .
If good enough , they played in the S . B . Ball , Jersey Flegg and Presidents Cup junior representative teams .
Of course , over the ensuing years only a small handful of them graduated to play grade for the Sea Eagles in the Australian Rugby League . And the Sea Eagles were no Robinson Crusoe ! Naturally the great bulk of those young men found jobs and relationships and a love of the Big Smoke , and only returned home for the occasional visit .
It began the demise of the always anticipated City v Country fixtures , which previously , year after year , unearthed a player or three who made it big at the top level .
I could list them all but there ’ s not enough room on these pages to do that !
The bulk of the 1975 side , the last Country Firsts outfit to beat City , went on to play in the NSWRL . They were Terry Fahey , Brian Hetherington , Erick White , Jon Jansen , Greg Brentnall , David Edwards , Mick Cronin , Arthur Mountier and John Ballesty - while Ian Martin , Ron Fogarty and Jim Morgan had already starred in that league before heading bush .
Country ’ s Steve Hewson was a brilliant halfback for the Queanbeyan Blues and would have made it in the big time but for a career-ending knee injury when only 21 . So , how would V ’ landys and Abdo strengthen bush rugby league with the injection of extra funds from their Vegas Vacation ?
Since 1984 , nothing has changed , and all clubs have continued to suck the bush dry of good young footballers .
I can ’ t see the NRL forking out the proceeds of the Yank punting money to pay for each young bushy boy and girl ’ s
gear ( shorts , socks , jerseys , boots ) plus insurance fees and registration fees .
Boosting the game in the bush , my
Tijuana Brass ! Aah , bah-humbug !
SAD MARKS1 : The passing of another “ Butcher Boy ”, Barry Drayton . Barry , a Life Member , gave decades of service to Riverstone Junior Rugby League Club as player , coach , official and supporter . Barry was laid to rest last month beside his beloved wife , Anne , at Castlebrook Memorial Park .
SAD MARKS 2 : The passing early last month in Leeds of revered Welsh Rugby Union and Great Britain Rugby League legend , Lewis Jones . I am honoured to say that I marked him at five-eighth in the 1966 and 1967 Riverstone High School Students versus Teachers games . Jonesy just got the better of me !!
LATE MARKS : A journo friend of many years subscribes to all the major American newspapers including the New York Times , Washington Post and LA Times , and he tells me none of them gave any coverage whatsoever about the Lost Vegas venture .
26 ISSUE 106 // APRIL 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT