The unbreakable culture at Western United was a well-documented part of the Club’s run to the Isuzu UTE A-League Men Championship last season.
The togetherness was demonstrated in the side’s goalkeeping union as Jamie Young joined the Club at the beginning of the campaign and taking the No.1 spot that Ryan Scott had held the season prior.
The relationship between the two shot stoppers is explored in United, Western United’s documentary series that is streaming now on 10 Play.
Speaking in the series, Young reveals a message that he sent to his counterpart before he arrived that set the tone for the relationship between the pair.
“I knew about him from playing against him, so as soon as I did sign I reached out to him and said ‘Ryan, I just want to let you know I’ve signed. I’ve seen you’ve done great things and I’ve got a hell of a lot of respect for you as a person. I respect you and we’re going to give it a good shake,’” he said.
Young added that he had experienced the feeling of being a second-choice goalkeeper before during his time playing in England, and that ensured he had a different perspective on the competition with Scott.
“I’ve been in that position for years at a time, so I can really empathise with him. The more I saw him as a human being more than a goalkeeper, it didn’t really matter what position he played, he’s a good person and he worked hard,” he said.
“He never dropped his standards, he never complained, so I saw him less as a competitor and more as someone I can learn from as well. Hopefully he saw someone that respected him as well.”
Scott became a key personality at the Club and while he admitted being out of the team was difficult for him, he recognised he still had an important role to play.
“I’m here to play, I’m not here to be everyone’s mate and be the funny guy, but I do that because that’s who I am,” he said.
“It’s important for me to be a character in the room, get the boys up and do what I can. If I can help people, make them laugh, celebrate a goal, anything that I can do to help the team is important to me.”
Despite playing in every match throughout the regular season and Finals Series, Young acknowledged that Scott’s quality and work ethic meant the pair were in “constant competition” and that he needed to perform at the highest level every day to remain in the team.
“As a goalkeeper, you’re one goal away from getting dropped,” he said.
