Jamie Young has been awarded the Forever West Fans’ Player of the Season award, while Jerry Skotadis picked up the Young Player of the Season award at Western United’s inaugural WUFC Gala Awards Night.
Young was instrumental in Western United’s success across the campaign, leading the league with 10 clean sheets and 95 saves through the regular season before adding two more shutouts and 19 stops to his stat sheet in the Finals.
The 36-year-old made a number of remarkable saves throughout the season, none more so than the one to deny Wellington Phoenix’s James McGarry in the Elimination Final.
Saturday’s Grand Final win was Young’s first as a player after seven seasons with Brisbane Roar, with the stopper relishing playing under John Aloisi having done so previously in the sunshine state.
“It’s always nice to win an award. I could’ve stayed where I was but I felt like I wanted more in my life,” he said.
“This award is not just for me, but also for my partner Abbey – we celebrated the birth of our daughter this year.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this season, I’ve had the best stats of my career. The Club has done a lot for my family.”
Young also earned A-Leagues All-Stars selection and was named on the bench of the PFA Team of the Season for his exploits on the pitch.
Skotadis made the most appearances in a single season in his career to date, seeing the pitch 17 times across the regular season and Finals Series.
The 22-year-old was called upon late in the season with Steven Lustica and Rene Krhin both going down with injuries, starting in the first three Finals matches and playing half an hour in the Grand Final.
Not only did Skotadis feature in those games, but the No.27 thrived on the big stage with some immaculate midfield displays alongside Neil Kilkenny.
His tough tackling and strong engine through the middle of the pitch became increasingly dependable over the course of the season, as Aloisi found him to be a reliable option off the bench before making a big impact in the Finals.
“It feels very good (to win), especially because during the season I didn’t play much, but at the end I stepped up and did my job,” Skotadis said.
“It’s all about keeping your head up, that opportunity will come and I took it when I did.”
Skotadis will hope to turn this season into further opportunities down the line as he looks to step into a more regular role in midfield.
