His selection might have come as a bit of a shock but Aaron Calver’s performance in the Sydney Derby on Saturday night was hardly a surprise.
The 21-year-old, originally from Caringbah, was outstanding for Sydney FC against Western Sydney in his long-awaited return to the side after a horror run with injuries.
Calver, a Helensburgh Thistles junior, suffered a hyperextended knee playing in the Champions League in May that left him with ruptured ligaments and damaged muscles. He returned to training only to tear his meniscus eight weeks ago.
With Matt Jurman leaving for South Korea and Seb Ryall injured, the Sky Blues were in desperate need of defensive reinforcements. And coach Graham Arnold again showed how much he trusts young players – and how highly he rates Calver – by throwing him straight into the high pressure clash against Sydney’s bitter cross-town rivals.
It was Calver’s first A-League appearance in 279 days.
The former Heathcote High School student was excellent for Sydney FC and looked to have an immediate understanding with his centre back partner, the experienced Alex Wilkinson.
The question will be if Arnold continues to put his faith in Calver as Sydney FC continue their unblemished season.
The Sky Blues announced late last week the signing of experienced Dutch defender Jordy Buijs until the end of the season.
But if Calver is to be retained it would be a great show of faith in the young defender. It might also be a wise decision, with Calver potentially a player the Sky Blues could build their defence around for the next decade.
Zampa unlucky
The announcement of the Australian Test team to tour India has raised a few eyebrows.
While Sutherland’s Steve Smith and St George’s Josh Hazlewood were locks as captain and No.1 quick respectively, one omission that hasn’t been mentioned is that of former Sutherland captain Adam Zampa.
Selectors have picked four spinners including Nathan Lyon, Stephen O'Keefe and youngsters Ashton Agar and Mitchell Swepson in their 16-man squad.
Swepson is thought to have been given the nod ahead of Zampa as selectors view Swepson as more attacking.
Zampa has been around Australia’s one-day set up for a while and impressed in last year’s IPL and previously at the World T20 in India. It would have been interesting to see if he could replicate his form in India in the shorter forms in Test cricket.
No.1 battle
When Cronulla and St George Illawarra start their NRL seasons in March it will be interesting to see who is wearing their respective club’s No.1 jerseys.
Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird are both keen on replacing Ben Barba at the Sharks, while Matt Dufty is a genuine chance to play fullback at the Dragons if Josh Dugan does make a permanent move to the centres.
