Capital Football are pleased to name the All-Stars team to take on A-League side Central Coast Mariners at Deakin Stadium on Wednesday 24 August 2022.
The squad is representative of the Capital Football National Premier League (NPL) competition with six of the clubs featured as well as a representative from Capital Premier League leaders Tuggeranong United.
“The selection process was quite complicate taking into consideration the requests of Head Coaches,” Capital All-Stars Head Coach and Capital Football Assistant Technical Director, Ali Efe revealed.
“We had to take into consideration the time of year that this game is being played, the workload on the players involved, and their forthcoming fixture list. We didn’t want to overload one club with selections, and we were looking to represent as many teams in Canberra as possible.
“We took guidance from our Assistant Coaches and from the Head Coaches of all our National Premier League teams, with those coaches nominating players for selection from their group.
“Some of the originally selected players were, for whatever reason, unable to take part in the match and were subsequently replaced by other players, again in consultation with their Head Coach.”
Belconnen United club legend Dustin Wells will captain the All-Stars team which features an average age of 22.
Young starlets such as Tuggeranong defender Harrison Buesnel, O’Connor Knights trio Patrick O’Rourke, Noah Steinacker and Connor Mynott-Smith, Gungahlin stopper Dylan Peraic Cullen and striker Will Roberts, Olympic under-23 midfielder David Russell and Belconnen United duo Harry Menham and Christian Kreskas will be given their opportunity to shine.
Table toppers Canberra Croatia will provide the Golden Boot leader in Daniel Barac as well as midfield dynamo Matej Busek and defender Cassidy Tanddo whilst Australia Cup representatives Monaro Panthers send defender Kyle Senior, midfielder Gabe Cole and forward Andre Carle.
“After chatting with the appropriate Head Coaches, we have deliberately selected some of the younger players in order to give them a chance at to showcase their ability in front of A-League coaches,” Efe commented.
“We are certain that the young players will give a good account of themselves and represent the league in the right way. I would like to thank the clubs and coaches for their cooperation in turning this around in a short time span.”
The Mariners return to Canberra for the 16th time in their history for this match, this being the third time that they will have faced a Capital Football representative squad in a friendly encounter.
ALL-STARS CANBERRA TEAM LIST
(stats correct up to and including 16/08/2022)
| NAME | POS | CLUB | 2022 | 2022 | Career | Career |
| APP | GLS | APP | GLS | |||
| Jakeb WISEMAN | GK | West Canberra Wanderers | 17 | 0 | 71 | 0 |
| Dylan PERAIC CULLEN | GK | Gungahlin United | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Harrison BUESNEL | DEF | Tuggeranong United | 16 | 7 | 41 | 11 |
| Kyle SENIOR | DEF | Monaro Panthers | 14+1 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| Lachlan FIELDS | DEF | West Canberra Wanderers | 14+1 | 2 | 42 | 4 |
| Noah STEINACKER | DEF | O’Connor Knights | 7+1 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Cassidy TANDDO | DEF | Canberra Croatia | 12+1 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| Harry MENHAM | DEF | Belconnen United | 10+1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Robert TKATCHENKO | DEF | Gungahlin United | 10+1 | 0 | 44 | 2 |
| Gabe COLE | MID | Monaro Panthers | 15+1 | 2 | 41 | 6 |
| Chris FAYERS | MID | Belconnen United | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| Matej BUSEK | MID | Canberra Croatia | 15+1 | 7 | 28 | 7 |
| Connor MYNOTT-SMITH | MID | O’Connor Knights | 15+1 | 3 | 16 | 3 |
| David RUSSELL | MID | Canberra Olympic | 0+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Patrick O’ROURKE | MID | O’Connor Knights | 14+1 | 8 | 15 | 8 |
| Dustin WELLS | MID | Belconnen United | 13 | 0 | 291 | 140 |
| Michael ADAMS | MID | O’Connor Knights | 14+1 | 4 | 47 | 12 |
| Will ROBERTS | FWD | Gungahlin United | 10+6 | 5 | 16 | 5 |
| Christian KRESKAS | FWD | Belconnen United | 16 | 2 | 34 | 4 |
| Andre CARLE | FWD | Monaro Panthers | 6+3 | 4 | 9 | 4 |
| Daniel BARAC | FWD | Canberra Croatia | 15 | 13 | 142 | 72 |
Head Coach: Ali EFE (Capital Football)
Assistant Coaches: Ian WORTHINGTON (Monaro Panthers), Antoni JAGARINEC (Tigers FC), Chris CAGGIANO (Gungahlin United)
MATCH DETAILS
Wednesday 24 August
Capital All-Stars v Central Coast Mariners
(Deakin Stadium, 18:30)
Ticket Prices: $10 Adults $5 Kids
