Former Socceroo David Williams watched his Charles Perkins XI open the CommBank Emerging Socceroos Championships with a stirring win on Sunday, saying the culture and values they set as a team got them through an anxious final 10 minutes against Victoria White at Valentine Park in Sydney.
Williams played more than 200 A-League matches across five different clubs before retiring from Perth Glory last year after an ACL injury ended his career.
He has returned as coach of the invitational team, bringing together top First Nations talent for the under-16 and under-15 showpiece of Australia’s best young footballers.
For a second year, the Indigenous team is named in honour of Charles Perkins, the former activist and ex-footballer.
Lachlan Blayden scored the team’s opening goal before Christian Lykopoulos equalised for Victoria midway through the second half. Trey Anderson grabbed the winner, but the team needed a huge save at the death from goalkeeper Nash Robinson to secure the points. The keeper’s sister, Markie Robinson, was watching on. She was involved last week at the Emerging Matildas Championships with NSW Sky, having represented the Charles Perkins XI last year.
“It was something special, something to create a platform for the boys for the rest of the tournament and I’m just so proud of them,” said Williams, who was recognised as the first Indigenous player for Melbourne City and was capped twice for the Socceroos.
“Our values that they set as a group really came to light in the last 10 minutes and that’s what got us the result and what carried us through.
“The boys can really build on something and it does come from culture, it does come from passion and I can just say that this program is worth it. We can see why because of where they’ve come from and the challenges they’ve faced. They can beat the odds and get a result.
“We’ve still got a job to do. They’re getting ahead of themselves and thinking about tomorrow. They’ve got to enjoy the time with their friends and family here now. I’m over the moon for them and we’ll just see what the rest of the week brings.”
Since finishing playing, Williams has taken on a leading role with the Indigenous Football Australia Council and sees his role at the ESC as being as much about mentoring as coaching.
“The Charles Perkins XI is a platform and a program that gives young Indigenous players the chance to perform at national titles,” said Williams.
“They might have challenges throughout their club careers in making state teams or missing out, but that is sometimes not through their own doing. It can come down to finances, hardships at home and other factors. With this program, we are trying to develop young Indigenous players so that we can get back to the days in the A-League when there were so many Indigenous players.”
The competition launched on Sunday with 16 opening round pool matches, and Williams is not the only coach involved with A-League pedigree.
Former Socceroo Neil Kilkenny is leading the Western Australia under-16 team, which celebrated a strong first-up win over NSW Regional. Clayton Zane is assistant coach of Northern NSW, Vaughan Coveny is with Victoria’s under-15s and Lachlan Armstrong is coaching Victoria Country under-15s.
Gary Moretti, Football Australia’s Head of National Teams, opened proceedings on Sunday, and CommBank Young Socceroos coach Trevor Morgan had a keen eye on the action.
“To the players, play with pride. Be bold. Go forward. Take your opportunity,” Moretti told the youngsters. “National team coaches are watching, led by Trevor Morgan, our under-20s national team coach.”
South Australia’s Joshua Tassotti made the most of his first opportunity with a flying start in the under-15 golden boot race, scoring a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Northern NSW in Group C.
Dimitri Staveris scored twice for NSW Navy as they cruised past Queensland Silver 4-0 in under-16 Group A, while Victoria Blue also got off to a strong start in the same group, beating Capital Football 4-1.
In under-16 Group B, Queensland Maroon joined the Charles Perkins XI on the winners’ list, defeating Tasmania 2-0.
The biggest margin of the day came in under-15 Group B, where Queensland Maroon thumped Tasmania 6-1, with four players on the scoresheet, including doubles for Nathan Kirby and Archer Lees. In the same group, Victoria White edged Japan Academy 2-1.
HOW TO WATCH
KommunityTV is your destination for exclusive live streams of the 2026 CommBank Emerging Championships with News Corp full digital subscribers having exclusive access to watch the action.
Every match will be available to watch live and on demand. Live streams of all fields will be available for each day of the tournament, with replays posted at the end of each day.
FIXTURES & RESULTS
The Tournament Hub has all the competitions and results while the Tournament Guide features all the groups, fixtures and key information.
Stay tuned to Football Australia's website, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok for updates and social coverage.
This article was originally published on football360.com.au
