Words: Michael Flynn
Image: Pless Pix/Football Federation Tasmania

Brisbane City have added former Foxtel National Youth League player Curran Ferns to their squad for the 2015 PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland season.

The 21-year-old defensive midfielder is a product of the Victorian Institute of Sport and played two seasons with Melbourne Victory Youth before an additional season with the then-named Melbourne Heart Youth team.

Ferns was also part an Australian representative youth side that competed in the prestigious Tournoi de Montaigu in France.

Last season he moved to Tasmania’s Victory League, making 16 appearances and scoring three goals for Tilford Zebras following a mid-season switch from South Hobart FC.

Ferns’ outstanding performances in 2014 earned him selection to the Tasmanian representative team for a friendly against Victory’s Hyundai A-League side before he was withdrawn from the squad for disciplinary reasons.

While not wanting to comment directly on that incident, Ferns said he was looking forward to a fresh start with City this season.

“I wanted to get away from all the drama that happened last season,” Ferns said.

He added that many factors had influenced his move to the Sunshine State, which bucks the recent trend of PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland talent chancing their hand in southern competitions.

“I thought that if I’m not going to be in an A-League set-up I might as well travel around Australia and experience other places and other leagues,” Ferns explained.

“We all know that Brisbane probably has the best lifestyle in Australia with the weather, especially compared to Melbourne.”

“Queensland also has the second strongest league outside of Victoria and is probably on par with Sydney. So there’s a lot of quality up here.”

Ferns also said he was impressed with the club culture at City and that his new teammates were very welcoming.

“I’ve been getting to know them over the past week and they really are top blokes.”

“I think it’s a strong quality of Brisbane City that everyone really gets on well with each other.”

He added, “I remember playing against Brisbane City when I was twelve years old in the Gold Coast Cup. They had a great side and a great set-up even then.”

Ferns also pointed out that his aims on the pitch were in line with his new club, which includes a serious tilt at silverware in 2015.

“I’ve had a good chat with the club and our goals are to win the league and go as far as we can in the FFA Cup,” he said.