As Season 1 at Moreton City Excelsior FC draws to a close, it’s important to reflect on an extremely successful 2024 as preparations for 2025 are well underway. This season has exceeded many expectations but has left the club hungry for more.
Where else can we start but with our flagship men’s side, our NPL Senior Men. I’ll begin with a quote from our NPL Head Coach and newly appointed Head of Senior Development, Cameron Millar: "The power of great people, strong team culture, a progressive environment and staying true to our model once again proved to be the recipe for continuous improvement of our team."
Our NPL Men, although without any silverware this year, had a fantastic season. Notable highlights included an impressive 4-3 comeback win over Perth Glory in the Round of 16 of the Australia Cup, followed by a quarter-final berth against Melbourne Victory. The team finished 2nd in the NPL, were grand finalists in both the NPL and inaugural Queensland Cup, as well as semi-finalists in the Kappa Pro Series and quarter-finalists in the aforementioned Australia Cup.
This achievement has also been made possible with many homegrown staff and players.
The NPL men’s playing group consists of over 55% academy graduates, including captain Declan Smith who has been at the club for 12 years.
Additionally, many of the coaching staff have emerged from the club's academy programs. Notable figures include Cam himself, who has progressed through every phase of the club, and Dave Harris, an experienced first-team coach who began in the club's skill acquisition phase and junior academy, resulting in Dave amassing over 10 years of experience at the club.
While the players and staff aimed for more, we are extremely proud of their achievements.
In our senior women’s space, we welcome Chris Saxil into the Head Coach role for the upcoming QPL campaign. The 2024 season was highlighted by a significant number of young debutants making their way into the first-team setup regularly—always a guiding principle and target at the club.
This transition aligns well with the revamped girls’ academy program at MCEFC for 2025, including our U11/U12 girls’ program integrated into the junior academy, under the leadership of Tom Grylls (Head of Junior Development), and our U13-U17 Girls Academy under the experienced leadership of Andre Bennett (newly appointed Head of Youth Development).
Andre is another exciting addition to the MCEFC staff this year. Nominated for the FQ Development Coach of the Year, and after an impressive campaign with the Brisbane Roar NPL side, he steps into the role of Head of Youth Development at the club, as well as Head Coach of our Men’s QPL team competing in FQPL2 next season.
The revamped senior men's structure at the club is incredibly exciting across many facets. Under Andre’s guidance in the QPL program, the setup provides an opportunity for our young players to be exposed to senior football at an early age, within a squad designed to prepare them for the NPL and beyond, balancing the right mix of experience and youth. We are excited to see the group progress after an impressive start to training in pre-season.
The U23 NPL & QPL men’s sides also had impressive campaigns with the NPL U23 side finishing 2nd in the NPL under the leadership of Sam Dickinson, and the QPL U23 team impressively winning the league steered by Ben Herron.
MCE Youth Academy continues to be guided by the principle of long-term individual player development. To be ranked the No. 1 Academy in the state by Football Queensland is a testament to the effectiveness of our methodology and is complete justification of the great work being done in the academy day in and day out.
We pride ourselves on individual player development, and we are proud of the many instances this year where former academy players have shone on the national and international stage:
Ben Holliday: After an impressive NPL campaign with the club, Ben signed with Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League, fulfilling one of the club’s core pillars of developing professional players.
Charlie Parkin and Rhys Williams: Both have impressed with the U17 Australian Team (Joeys) in multiple Asian Cup qualifying campaigns.
Sharn Freier: A former academy and senior player, Sharn’s selection into the Matildas and her performances have made us all extremely proud.
Bailey Brandtman: Continues to shine with Central Coast Mariners, and is now joined by MCE junior Arthur De Lima at the club.
Results are never a true indicator of individual player development but our youth academy players are a great representation of long term player development processes resulting in success.
Our U16 Boys, for example, won a second consecutive grand final, and our U18 Boys took home the Queensland Cup. These teams featured 10 & 6 players respectively who progressed through our Junior Academy from U10s.
We were also well-represented across all finals series, with our FQ1 U13 Girls and U13 Boys reaching their respective grand finals.
Our FQ3 program continues to grow, providing a pathway for players in our community football program to take their first steps into our academy tier. From there, several players have successfully transitioned into the FQ1 and FQ2 programs at the club, demonstrating a progression between the tiers.
In 2025, the program will expand to three nights a week to further bridge the gap between the two academy tiers. Jason Gilbert’s (FQ3 Program Lead) leadership and expertise in this area have been instrumental in the continued growth and development of both the program and the pathway across all levels.
Heading into the new season there are also a number of players stepping up from the clubs flourishing community Kangaroo program into the FQ3 Academy space. We look forward to continuing the transition between multiple programs at the club.
In our Junior Academy, under the leadership of Tom Grylls, players had multiple experiences and exposure to different formats and environments throughout the year. They enjoyed more football than ever before, with one of the standout opportunities being participation in the Melbourne Diamond League. This gave our players the chance to compete against A-League academy sides, including Melbourne Victory and Western United, as well as several NSW and Victorian teams.
Tom is heading into his second year at the club and has already had a significant impact on the junior program in 2024. His unwavering standards and skill acquisition knowledge has proved to be a great asset for the club. I look forward to the delivery of the program in 2025!
As we head into 2025, we extend our heartfelt thanks to outgoing Academy Director Matt Poole, who departs to take on a technical management role at Football Queensland after 12 years at the club. Matt leaves behind a tremendous legacy and has made a long-lasting impact on the club.
We extend our gratitude to Greg Bradley, the departing Senior Women's Coach and Head of Female Development, for his outstanding contribution to the club.
We welcome Lumin Sports and Performance Physio, Health & Fitness as our new high-performance academy partners. Their expertise will greatly enhance our S&C, Wellbeing, Physio, and High Performance programs—an area we are excited to grow.
Looking forward to 2025, we have exciting announcements on the horizon regarding new school and club partners as part of our new Moreton Cityzens program. The club is motivated and eager to further expand into the local community and beyond.
Finally, a massive thank you to our extremely valued sponsors, staff, and committee for their unwavering support in helping us achieve many of the club's goals throughout the year, and for their dedication to implementing the club-wide strategic plan.
I am extremely proud of all the players, coaches, and staff across our junior, youth, and senior environments.
The future looks bright, and I can't wait to see what’s to come in 2025!!!
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