Western United standouts Angus Thurgate and Noah Botic have been voted by their peers in the PFA A-League Men Team of the Season.
The pair have been recognised for incredible seasons where they were instrumental in a record-breaking campaign for Western United, one where John Aloisi’s side broke new ground in wins, points and goals scored in a single season.
Western United General Manager of Football Mal Impiombato was full of praise for both players in receiving this accolade.
“It is always a special honour for players to be recognised by their peers and we congratulate Angus and Noah on this deserved appreciation from their fellow athletes,” he said.
“Angus’ recognition is well deserved and he has become the most consistent performer. His season has been one to remember and he is no doubt putting himself in Socceroos contention as arguably the best midfielder in the league.
“We are also delighted to see Noah rewarded for an outstanding individual season. The Club has developed and nurtured Noah over the last four years and we are delighted to see him grow and become one of Australia’s brightest young stars.”
Emerging as one of the best midfielders in the country, Thurgate has been selected in the starting line-up alongside Melbourne Victory’s Ryan Teague and Louis Verstraete from Auckland FC.
Thurgate bookended his season with goals in the first and final rounds, missing just one match in between on the way to scooping up Western United Player of the Season and Fans’ Player of the Season honours and finishing second in the Johnny Warren Medal.
His consistency shone through all year, having an impact on the pitch in every match and dominating the midfield, whether it was helping create chances in attack or thwarting the opposition in defence.
Striking up a wonderful partnership with Rhys Bozinovski in the centre of the pitch, Thurgate added five assists to his two goals and covered every blade of grass at Ironbark Fields.
After a breakout season in his professional career, Botic is named as a substitute in the Team of the Season.
With 12 goals in the regular season, the 23-year-old added four more in the finals to become Western United’s all-time leading goal scorer and finish the overall season with the most goals in the competition.
Botic scored in any way possible – with either foot or his head, from long range or at close quarters – and developed into one of the deadliest strikers in the league.
The duo become the seventh and eighth Western United players to be named in the PFA Team of the Season. Leo Lacroix, Jamie Young, Ben Garuccio and Neil Kilkenny were selected in 2021/2022 while Alessandro Diamanti and Besart Berisha made the team in 2019/20.
