Report by Tommy Doleman

Danny Hodgson, right, has scored 30 goals in his last 33 NPL games. Photo by FotoEnzo

Round 19 of the NPLWA – Men’s competition features a meeting between last year’s champions ECU Joondalup and current leaders Perth SC.

The Azzurri are a point clear of Floreat Athena, while ECU are currently two points off a finals berth but with a game in hand.

Key to ECU’s hope of reaching the Top Four Cup will be 2020 Golden Boot winner Danny Hodgson, who is one behind Inglewood United’s Steve Sokol in this season’s count.

While the Jacks’ title defence has not quite gone to plan, the Englishman says there is still plenty at stake for the team.

“I think we’ve been a bit unlucky this year and games haven’t quite gone our way. We’ve had a lot of injuries and it feels we’ve not had the same starting line-up for two games in a row,” Hodgson said.

“But we’ve also struggled to put a few wins together lately. We had a bit of a hiccup early, seven or eight games unbeaten and now a little inconsistent. The lads have been on the right wavelength but it just hasn’t quite clicked as it did last year.

“Every point matters now though and there’s still plenty to play for.”

Hodgson is one of WA’s most dangerous marksmen and his rise through the divisions has seen him play integral roles in NPL, Division One and Two title winning sides.

But it was not all smooth sailing for the striker who was part of Carlisle United’s Centre of Excellence from the age of eight. He spent a decade with the English Football league club ranging, earning a youth team contract and playing reserve team football.

Unfortunately, Hodgson was released from Carlisle when he was 18 and he admits it was a challenging period personally.

“It was hard. Probably the toughest time of my life was when I was released because you’re living at home again with no job, realistically no qualifications, and are in unknown territory,” he said.

“It’s pretty harsh. And you can see why you hear stories and the links to depression and mental health when people get released because it’s tough. I did a personal training course, got back in the gym and worked, then had three options. To stay playing non-league and work, to go to America on a scholarship or come to Australia.

“I kind of wanted to get away from it. My family obviously dedicated a lot of money and time, travelling hours with me on a Sunday so I could play, so you do feel like you’ve let them down a bit for the effort they’ve put in. But thankfully I have a great family and was very fortunate to have that support.”

After arriving in Australia, Hodgson had offers to go over east. He decided to give Perth a go as he had family who lived here. He trained with Bayswater before signing with Armadale in 2016 where he impressed with six goals in eight games. Unfortunately, he injured his knee twice in three years.

“I spent 14 months doing rehab the first time around and as I was coming back, I was playing Top Four Cup reserves and tore my ACL which was another 12 months out. So, I had almost three years of not playing between age 19 and 22,” he added.

Hodgson then returned to playing football in Division Two with Olympic Kingsway and it began a prolific ascent through the divisions which culminated in a 17-goal Golden Boot winning season helped ECU Joondalup claim their first top-flight title since 1999. In total Hodgson has netted 30 goals in his last 33 NPL games.

“It never really went through my mind initially to go back to the NPL. I was just grateful to be back playing after being on the sidelines. It’s always in the back of your mind initially that you don’t want to get injured again,” he said.

“Kingsway was a great club for me and helped me find my feet again. It was nice to win Division Two there and then go onto Gwelup and win the league there and get promoted.

“Then the goal then was to try and win in the NPL. From a personal point of view, I’ve always had that confidence I can score goals, but it was nice to win the Golden Boot and help the team win the league. Not so much to prove anyone wrong, but more to prove to myself that I can reach that level.

“It’s hard to explain and understand how hard it is unless you’ve experienced that sort of injury. But it’s just nice to be back playing now. I’m enjoying my football and hopefully I can keep winning games at ECU and scoring more goals too.”

Elsewhere, there is a massive clash between the bottom two as Rockingham City meet Balcatta.

Both teams are locked on 12 points and have the same goal difference. Only the number of goals scored – 20 to 18 – is keeping Balcatta out of the relegation zone. Balcatta at least rallied from two down to draw with Sorrento last week but they go up against a Rockingham side who came from behind to defeat Inglewood United last week.

Gwelup Croatia head coach Trevor Morgan left the club this week with the side just four points off the bottom. Under 20s coach Richard Abrams will take charge of their remaining four games starting with Saturday’s home clash with Bayswater City. Cockburn, who are six points clear of relegation, travel to sixth-placed Inglewood.

Meanwhile, second-place Floreat will aim to build on last week’s victory over Gwelup when they take on an Armadale side, who must win to keep any outside finals hopes alive.

Sorrento, in third, take on Perth Glory, who will go above the Gulls with a win at Percy Doyle Reserve. Sorrento, no doubt ruing those two dropped points at Balcatta, really have to win to maintain an interest in the title race.

All matches will be live streamed on the Football West Facebook and YouTube pages.

- Football West would like to pass on our deepest sympathy to all at Bayswater City on the passing of President Gerry Maio, a massive supporter of football in WA and a key figure in Baysie's success.

There will be a minute's silence before all of Saturday's NPLWA - Men's first-team games, as well as the 18s and 20s matches between Gwelup Croatia and Bayswater. Players will wear black armbands at all three Gwelup-Bayswater games.

Fixtures

Saturday (3pm)
Armadale v Floreat Athena (Alfred Skeet Reserve)
ECU Joondalup v Perth SC (ECU Football Stadium)
Gwelup Croatia v Bayswater City (Croatian Sporting Complex)
Inglewood United v Cockburn City (Inglewood Stadium)
Rockingham City v Balcatta (SafeRad Stadium)
Sorrento v Perth Glory (Percy Doyle Reserve)