The first of three matches to be played on Sunday, the early kick-off between Ipwich’s Western Pride and Queensland Academy of Sport pits former A-League stalwarts Kasey Wehrman and Josh McCloughan against each other for the first time as coaches.

Renowned for his turn of phrase on the pitch as a player, Pride Head Coach Wehrman sought to stir the waters ahead of the opening fixture, taunting his rival – albeit with his tongue firmly in cheek.

“Josh is the pretty boy of Queensland football and I’m the hard-worker,” Wehrman claimed. “That’s not to say Josh doesn’t work hard, because he does, but he’s still a pretty boy,”

Jokes aside, Wehrman stressed he was aware of the unique challenge posed by QAS, “For them it’s not always about the result but we won’t take them lightly. They are still the cream of the crop of Queensland’s young footballers.”

Asked what supporters could expect from his Pride outfit, Wehrman stressed he wants to deliver a “winning style of play.”

“Attacking football is our game,” he explained. “We will strive to be positive in attack and to score as many goals as we can; and while that can sometimes open you up defensively we’re confident we can score more goals than our opponents.”

A key focus of the NPL is the youth development pathway and it’s a responsibility QAS Head Coach McCloughin is well aware of as he prepares his young charges for the season ahead.

“The whole idea of the Academy programme is to expose as many of the youngsters to this level of competitive football,” McCloughan explained.

“We’ve lost three or four players from last year, but they’ve gone on to bigger and better things and that’s what the Academy program is all about.”

“We have some exciting prospects coming through but the bottom line is when you’re playing 16 and 17 year olds against men you are going to have your good days and your not-so-good days.”

But McCloughan was quick to add, “We’ll certainly be competitive though, there’s no doubt about that. The boys are definitely looking forward to the it.”

And what does the former Brisbane Roar defender think about being labelled a pretty boy? “I don’t know where he’s getting that from to be honest but Kasey should know by now that the akubra and RM Williams look have no place on the football field. They belong in the cow paddock.”

Words: Michael Flynn (Football Queensland)