The World Game with Stefan MaukFrom the A-Leagues to the EPL, Adelaide United star Stefan Mauk brings you the latest results, news and analysis from the World Game.
This is the world game with Stephen Moore.
Thanks to football say bringing South Australian communities together.
Great to have you with us, seven after six here on this Thursday night. It's time to talk all things soccer and you can cherry pick your own to go full pro from Southern cherry mor Vale from just twenty three to nine to ninety drive away. The season is over for the men, it is still going for the women. Talking about Adelaide United and it's heating up in the Champions League.
There's a lots going on.
Epl's been one with a few weeks to go, let's dive straight into it all.
Stephan Moore, good evening.
To you, Good evening, and yeah we're we're in a very awkward position right now for the boys. Obviously we're done with our home and away season, but our finals they're not over.
But we don't know what's going on.
We're training obviously because if Sydney FC lose this weekend, which is a very strong possibility, I would say to Melbourne City, then we make the finals, we scrape into sixpo and you know then it's anyone's game. You make finals and you know it can go anyway. Possible, but you know, come Saturday, Sydney FC could draw or win that game and we're done. So it's a I've never been in this position before.
I hope you feeling weird.
Yeah, I hope I'm never in it again, to be honest, because it's just coincidental. The buy was our first round of the season and our last round. So we're going to get together at Issa's house.
He's got a nice backyard.
We'll watch the game and hopefully we'll be we'll be celebrating. I've got quite a few Melbourne City shirts from my playing days there.
I might bring them all out and get the boys to wear them.
I like that.
Hopefully that's the last time you're wearing that. So that's a really fascinating sort of week for you. Then, if you're having to you've wrapped up the season, why is there a buy in the last round? By the way, that's extraordinary for you.
Well, I personally think if they're going to want to create excitement for the league, the APL should look at this and the first you know, we play what is that thirty odd rounds? I think it is, you know, obviously something along those lines. They should do the first twenty games or whatever it is, but the last ten they should choose the teams from the bottom that are going to have the bye last because you know, a team like us, we're now sitting here not knowing what's going on, and if we were playing in the last round it'd be a lot more exciting totally. Instead, you've got teams like you know, Wellington, per Central Coast, nothing to.
Play for, proper dead rubbers.
I just think they need to do a little bit like the AFL where they do the first you know, two thirds of the season and then roll the rest of the games out because absolutely we've got uneven teams so someone needs to have the buy. But it would be much more beneficial for a Perth or or a Brisbane Raw that their last or second last doesn't matter if they're playing their fans don't care.
Do that.
That's right.
The season's done and dusted. But it was a really interesting night. It was a great draw. I do want to reflect on it.
It was nil.
You guys haven't played the nil all draw all season, so it was a really rare occasion because usually a high scoring team and defensively lately you've been letting a few three, so I thought it'd be at least some sort of scoring contest, but turned it out to be opposite. And I've got to give him credit. I've sort of had to speak about the goalkeeping of Max Bartuli in the last month and he hasn't had a great time. But his first clean sheet and the first for the Reds in ten games, it was just a brilliant performance.
He was making some huge saves late in that match.
Yeah, most definitely, and I think that's the that's the harsh reality of being a goalkeeper is you know, when you make mistakes, it's on show for everybody to see. But also, like what he showed on the weekend, he's got quality. That's obviously why the coaches have been backing him in and touchwood that we make finals and now his confidence is up.
And the other small element though if you do play finals, actually good one won't be available to he did his hamstrong Yeah.
It was I think really disappointing for us.
We were, you know, twenty thirty minutes into the game and he's making a run forward and yeah, he's just felt something go, which he's had a lot of injury problems at Newcastle, but this whole season has been good, has been managed well.
But we had the three games in eight days.
We flew to I think it was Perth and home to Wellington in the weeks before that. Then we've flown to Brisbane midweek, then we've come back to Wadelaide, then we've flown to Melbourne. So it's a lot of travel and obviously his body couldn't take it, but he seems optimistic if we make a semi final.
He can be back for it. I'm not sure about that.
I don't know if the physias are but fingers crossed we get to that point and we've got that decision to make.
So you know, Luka Ivanovitch came in and he did.
Really well found the twenty Australia teams when he was leading the line. So it gives an opportunity for someone else should we have a game, and that's all we can do really. Melbourne City are a top team, but we've actually we've played them three times including preseason. It's been one or twice in one in pre season, one in the season and then nil al so we match up really well against them. If they come second, that's technically the team we could play in the final.
If we did reach it.
Obviously that's a long stretch away, but I'm an optimist as well, so I'm already looking at that.
Well. I want to hope that it wasn't last game for Calvi because if it is, it's a sad ending for him. I really wanted him to make a really big push with you guys in the finals again this season.
He deserves that. He's had a great time at the club.
But if it is, it is sort of onto, you know, the next search now for who the next coach is. And I suppose the question is, you know, are the fans interested in the in the coaching.
Race right now? Do they have? Is there a favorite out there at the moment.
From the fans?
I know, I've actually been getting a lot of people in the street that you know, talking of it happens always, but you know, they said, oh, they're going to get this person, They're going to.
Get that person.
Someone set a room of the other day, John van Shipp, who was actually he is a Dutch coach, but he was with us or with me at Melbourne Hert Melbourne City. I'm like, I haven't heard that one, but all the Rumors are flying about a Dutch coach obviously because we've got you know, the link to PSV.
I think they'll go with someone local. In Adelaide.
You've got Ross Lawissi who's over in China as an assistant at the moment. His brother John's off contract. Michael Valcanus, I know he's looking for a job. The next Adelaide United player helped with coaching here as well. And then you've got Anton who's the youth team coach who's done extremely well.
I know they like him.
Depends if they want to promote from within, which the club does talk about a lot, so I don't know what the what the fans want to see. If anyone does have any interest in this and does want to call in to say who they think it should be, I can pass you Ernest Favors number and you can give him a call directly and give him your two cents, but call in because it's always good to know what people want. At the end of the day, we got out there to play for you, so if there's someone that you want, it's always always good to hear.
That is fantastic.
Well, let's hope there's still one or two more games will live for Carviy or plenty more than that as well as we get into the postseason very soon. Speaking of postseason, let's talk about the A League Women's which started last weekend.
And Adelaide United. We made history.
It was our first finals campaign in the first win in seventeen years of existence, a really really great result to a good crowd reception Western United one nil at home on the Sunday.
Yeah, it was the I guess for the girls.
You know, the disappointment of last year was horrible and they came, as we spoke about with erin last week, as a group, they wanted to achieve something, they wanted to be better and now they've broken history again getting their first win final series in front.
Of a pretty good crowd.
And I think that crowd was maybe a bit smaller because it was the last day before the holidays came back or sorry school went back in holidays.
Now we've got our arch rivals.
In Melbourne Victory, who we love to beat as South Australians, we hate Victorians. It's just the truth, it is what it is. And now they get to play them this week. So on a Sunday, three point thirty I believe the game is will be there, all the boys will be going to support them, and I guess for me, if you're a fan listening, if you're a fan of the men's team, this is a perfect opportunity. You know, I'm not saying you have to go every single week because you know, some female fans want to only go and watch, you know, the female team play, and some male fans want to go and watch whatever it is. But this occasion here, I think is bigger than that. You know, it's the whole club getting behind the GELP. I've had a magnificent season and let's try and get a massive crowd because I know when I play for Adelaide United against Melbourne victory and there's fifteen thousand people there, it gives you that little bit of extra energy. So if we can get six seven, eight thousand there for this game. If you're listening, you've got a daughter, or a granddaughter, a niece, whatever it is, bring her down, get her inspired, because these are the moments that don't always happen. It's like the Women's World cop that was here, you know that may never happen again. This semi final, I hope it You know we're not saying this isn't going to happen ever again, but you don't know when the next one's got to come. So get down there. Support the girls. They've been unbelievable, so make sure you give them your support.
You want work in sales because that's a pretty good pitch. I love that work from you, Stefan, but it is such a great opportunity, so if you can get out and support it to be amazing. And it does lead us into our interview for tonight, and I do want to talk about because of this Female Football Week this next week, so really looking forward to what of this brings them. We'll sort of tell you a bit more very shortly, but our next guest is part of the Adelaide United a League women's side will be playing on the week and a young star on the rise played plenty of football here in our junior club's teacher Gully Salisbury inter and Mob bridgett'es just to name a few of them. Which she's been part of the State program here, a football essay in the WNPL as well and then even represented Australia in the under seventeens and under twenty So done plenty of great things and now leading us into a semi final.
Yes, we do have Sean Dewey on the line, so thanks so much for jumping on.
Hello. How are you?
Yeah? Really good? Thanks you.
You're seventeen years old, which is pretty.
Remarkable for the amount of appearances.
You've made nineteen appearances this season after only making a couple last year. Why do you think you've been able to take your game to the next level this season?
The difference between this season and last season, because obviously last year I was even a bit younger than I am now, so I was sixteen. Last season just got a few appearances. But this year I think it was just more about opportunity, like a few things happened with injury, and then I was able to gain a starting position on the team. And then I think just consistency and mainly confidence helped me to keep getting my spot back each week.
No, it's amazing, it's great to see.
That means that next next season you should be in line for playing at every single match, maybe becoming a regular starter. Obviously, And for yourself, did you have goals going into the seasoncause obviously being so young, only playing a couple of games last year. Did you have specific goals going into this year that you wanted to achieve?
To be honest, at the end of last year, I was just excited that they wanted me back at the club. I was just to beginning that. I was like, oh, yeah, they've offered me another contract, and I didn't think that I would be playing this much, but I obviously did want to. I set out a few goals and it was to because I think obviously last year I had a minor role in the team, and I did want to be someone that people could rely on for minutes and could rely on to get quality football out of So I think it was just to play more was the main thing for me.
No, that's that's great to hear, and obviously you've achieved that. Who've been some of the role models the players I guess that have kind of, you know, taken you under the wing and showed you the ropes and really improved your game. Because for me, you know that I had those players when I was sixteen seventeen, you know, and you always remember those who are the ones from the women's team that have been really.
Good for you. Yeah.
Well, I think even though she was injured. At the time, I kind of felt like I had big boots to field because Dylan Holmes obviously played in my position and she was out injured, so I got the opportunity kind of in her absence. But I think she was really Yeah, she was really keen like helping me. She helped me like with confidence and stuff like that. She was always encouraging me, even though she wasn't able to be on the pitch with me. She kind of just always put in a good word and gave me like a good bit of advice. But then in terms of like on the field, I always have like my back lines pretty supportive of me playing beneath me. Matilda and Thompson Zowe have been not only like good teammates, but good friends to be able to rely on, not just football, but in terms of anything I really needed.
No, that's that's amazing, and you are.
I guess what you know we're celebrating this week as Female Football Week begins tomorrow. You've come through the whole system, obviously growing up as a junior playing for junior clubs community clubs in t Tree Gully, then going to the npl W club Schoolsbury into modbridgjets through the system with Football SA NTC.
Now you're Adelaide United.
I guess what would you say to young girls if they're listening to this or they're going to come to the game on the weekend, what would you want to tell them about? You know, what should they focus on? How did you achieve what you're doing now? Because it's pretty remarkable for a seventeen year old.
I think the main thing is if you love it and you're always working at it and you're always training being better each day, I think that's what's obviously going to get you the furthest because if you're you know, already great at it, but you don't love it and you don't work hard at it, if you work harder, you get further. So I think that's probably just the main thing that I would say.
Good message, it's a great message. Yeah, I think you know.
Any girls listening, yeah, take that in because obviously it's worked for you.
The proof is in the pudding.
I'm expecting a massive performance from you obviously on the weekend and from the whole women's team.
I really want you guys to beat Melbourne victory. It's important.
It's the home Land before you have to go there the following Saturday, but we just want to wish you all the best and we'll be there to support you.
Oh, thank you very much.
Thanks Sean Dewey who will be with us in the Adelaide United Women's semi finals. So Sunday, as we said, three point thirty at Cooper Stadium, make sure you get there.
It'll be a great time.
It's a two league series against the second seed in Melbourne. Victory and hopefully onto bigger and better things for us. If we can have a really couple of weeks.
Then we have Melbourne City or Central Coast I believe it is in the other semi and Melbourne City are undefeated, so what better way to go there and give them their first loss of the season and in the.
Grand final that would be ruined.
It means a whole lot of nothing if you don't win. The Grand Final doesn't need a format in Australia. So fingers crossed. In two weeks time, we're back here, we're talking and we're saying how good the performances were over the two legs and maybe we need to book some tickets to Melbourne to watch them against Melbourne City.
Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, but we do need to get a win on the weekend, so get out and support and of course, as we just mentioned before the interview with Sean, was the events this week for Female Football Week at this beginning on Friday night all the way through to Sunday the eleventh, so plenty coming up all the way up to Mother's Day for If you want to have a look and see what events are around, you can enter the Football SA website because there's events all of next week going on around the place. Opening night is of of course, on Friday night Tomorrow night at Service FM Stadium. We'll have five to play street Team and Sapole recruitment vans there in attendance, which would be great.
It's a doubleheader for the WNPL.
There's halftime kick around on the pitch for the first time ever, so that's great. Bring your own ball and kick around out there. There'll even be a minute to win it challenge. We can win a grand.
How do we win it?
Well, you get the ball in the bin. I suppose that I have had down there.
It's all things to direct collect and there'll be mini ruse games as well all night. So there's just so much happening for this great week football female football week, so get around and get involved. Head to the Football SA website if you want to see what events around your neighborhood. It's twenty one minutes after six. We'll take a quick break here on the World Game. We'll talk some MPL very shortly. We'll also so talk about the Champions League and the EBL Liverpool are champs.
The World Game with Stephen Mork on five Double A.
It is time to talk all things in the World Game and we are going to go around the globe, but first stay local because the Australian Championship group stages have been announced.
Yes, I kind of came out of nowhere, to be honest, I wasn't aware that they were going to do it before. The champions have actually been announced from the individual NPL, so obviously that's not happening till maybe end of September, so the tbc's but the group stage in Group A, we've got South Melbourne which is massive against Sydney Olympics are two Greek teams they're going at it, which will be massive. The NPL Premier from Football Queens then and the NPL Premier from Northern New South Wales in Group A, so they'll play home and away matches. Group B you've got Marconi Stallions, Wollongong Wolves, the NPL Premier from Football Victoria and the NPL Premier from Football Tazz Group c Avon Dale and Preston, so two Melbourne teams they're going at it, plus your Football, your NPL Premiere from Football New South Wales and from Capitol Football over there in the act. And then this is where it gets interesting for our m PLSA boys is that they've been drawn in Group D with up your Leichard Sydney United, the NPL Premier of Football New South Wales sorry say, and the NPL Premier of WA. So two away trips to Sydney for the Essay Champs and one to WA. So it's exciting. I think this is something that's needed to come for a long time. It's the proposed second division that we want to get to a.
Full home and away that's cool, so we need to support this.
We actually everybody in local football team one a second division rock up in numbers to games, watch the games however they're viewed, do anything you can to support this because that's what's going to give these other clubs. I guess that belief that it's going to be successful to put their bids in. So hopefully the following year, in you know, twenty twenty six, we can go the fullth home and away. And I'm really excited because there's going to be some big games. First up on a Friday, tenth of October, two days before my birthday, Cool Lakeside Stadium, South Melbourne be Sydney Olympic is going to be massive. And then on the eleventh of October, if we don't have a game, I would love to go down for this one. Preston Lyons FC, who have been getting between six and ten thousand an I don't even know how they fit that many people now versus the NPL Premier from New South Wales, that is going to be ridiculous. They played South Melbourne five six weeks ago and that atmosphere would rival any league in Europe. So I think you're gonna get some really big games in this and it's just how can the smaller clubs go with getting crowds because if we get seven or eight, nine, ten thousand at Preston and we get five hundred people at you know, the WANPL Champs.
It's not great.
So let's hope everyone gets behind it because it's something that we need in this sport to grow and to get a second division and have promotion and relegation.
Is this So if this is early October, when's the Alague season starting.
We normally start middle to end of October, so there's normally an intern national break at this period.
So this would be a good opportunity to get out watch this, get a taste before the A League starts and you get that's good exposure for it.
It needs that clear air early. I think.
I think that's why they've done it to be because normally the international break is around my birthday, so I think that's when it's going to be. And yeah, it's it's something that you know, you don't want to be choosing between the A League and this.
You can watch both. Everything's on demand normally, so.
Let's see how they obviously get this on, whether it's on TV, whether it's on YouTube like they've got with the NPLS.
At the moment, we just need viewers to watch it.
That gives the confidence to the broadcasters say we'll pay for this. The sponsors will come in and say you numbers look great. Obviously there's a bit of backing behind this.
Let's get involved.
So it needs to go well, it's it's from October through to December, fingers cross the npo SA team can do extremely well and then the following year we have a team that commits to actually going in it because it's you know, it's big. The grand final seventh of December, so it's a very quick tournament. Npl SA, I think, is a really strong league. The Metro starf currently. Top of that, we had Daddy Grayson on who said they want to do really well in it and I think they're my bat for who's going to win it.
Oh okay, all right, well it's an early call. We'll go back to this a little later, but right.
Now a Premier League updates.
Well it's finally they've got themselves the Premier League Championship Liverpool. They equaled a league record now of twenty championships in the Premier League. Quite amazing and the first season for Ante which was fantastic to see him give a little bit of love back to Yogen Klopp after the match.
I love the look of that.
Everything about this had sort of a feel good to it, and especially for the fans who sort of missed out in their last championship during the COVID times, this had a real feel good to it.
Yeah. No, I think I'm going to be pidantic here because my father in law's a Liverpool fan. My best mate Ben Grouch is a Liverpool fan. Twenty Premier League titles. It was called the Football League first.
She was kind of like the bfl AFL.
So they've actually only won two Premier League Okay, Arsen, you have won three, so we're ahead of that. Just remember that. Okay, and you're not playing midweek right now because you've got knocked out of championship, so we've got our.
Return leg coming up.
But no, it's it's actually I do enjoy watching the Liverpool fans celebrate because they're so passionate. And you saw the scenes from outside the stadium. Yeah, sixtieth minute, seventieth minute, the amount of people that would have paid and I'm in a leg to get in there. Instead they're celebrating outside. The flares are going off, the fans are chanting. It's just something that we'll never experience here in any sport.
It's it's you know, I love the AFL, I love you NRL.
Any sport is great here, you know, we get big crowds for it. But the passion these guys have you just can't compare. And they're probably still going to be celebrating now for the next four weeks. My tribal it is, it literally is whatever. It's not what are you doing on the weekend. I might go to the football besides Liverpool game, What are you doing for the rest of your weekend?
You work your life around football.
And every business would be knowing that. Pubs, cafes, you know, bars, they know. Okay, if we've got a game on this night, we're going to be prepared for this and if we lose, it's got to be a bit of a disaster. A few people probably won't come out, or they will drink and there might.
Be a few fights. If we will we're going all night.
Yeah, for three days, four days. You could go for a long time, but that's the passion they bring you right and on the flip side for Tottenham or on the other side of the defeat, which means and there's only a couple more games left in it, but Tottenham's equal worst losses record for a season of nineteen, equal most in the club's history, so that's a bit disappointing for him. You don't know what the future looks like with only a few weeks left, but it just feels like it's slowly grinding.
And if you go over to Europe, you know, as I spoke about, you know, we've got Arsenal. They lost one Niel to PSG in the first leg. I thought it was a good game at the Emirates. Arsenal had some good chances. But PSG are a very very well team with some good players. And it's funny they used to have the stars in Buppe Nema Messi.
They finally get rid of the big stars. Now they're more of a team, and they've.
Spent so much money to get this Champions League and now finally you get rid of the star players and you've got your best chance you've ever had.
So it's funny how it works.
How you know in a team sport, you know, the most important thing is the team.
Figure that one out.
But we'll see, we'll see in Paris and then this morning in the other game, Barcelona three three against Inter unbelievable. It's like the talent that's on show is remarkable. And we were just speaking of Sean Dewey. She's seventeen. La min Yamule who's playing in Champions League games, but not just playing. He is the star of the show for Barcelona. He's seventeen as well.
It's extraordinary.
I just I think back to when I was seventeen and I'm dreaming about everything that's going on and saying, I can do this, I can do that. This guy's literally doing it. He's living his boyhood dream. Probably going into school the next day. Yeah, well you guys get up to last night. Yeah I was watching you or I was finishing my homework off and he's like, yeah, I'm playing in front of eighty thousand people, scoring goals and being the man out there. He's going to be the next superstar. It's already there. Like it's not that he has this potential. The potential is there. He's fulfilling it. It's just how long can he do it for. I hope we don't burn him out. I hope it doesn't get to his head in any way. And he's got the right people around him because he's a generational talent and I'm interested to see, you know, who wins that second leg.
It's up in the obviously a draw. They're both quality teams next Wednesday morning, let's see, let's see. But going over to the Europa League just quickly before we.
Head off, Tottenham played tomorrow morning against bod They're glimpsed who they should win.
They should be in the.
Final, and I'm going to put the pressure on him first they're at home tomorrow, then the away leg. It's a small small team from Norway. If they're not beating them, then and is in a world of bother. He's gone either way. But he needs to get a trophy or at least make a final. And then against Athletic Club or Manchester United bill Bao in would be interesting or even Manned Tottenham. Both have had horrible Premier League seasons. Could end up with a trophy and that's all that matters.
All right, Well, all I care about right now myself is Saturday four point thirty Melbourne City Sydney FC. Sydney get wiped off the park and Adelaide Hiddento the finals. So my fingers across fingers crossed for you mate, best of enjoy the weekend. Hopefully we see you next week with a big smile on your face and we've got something to look forward to. Hey, it's been a great week. Thanks so much for joining us here tonight on the show.
