Last season, the Sky Blues travelled to the Apple Isle to take on Western United, however it wasn’t the only time that they have played a match at North Hobart Oval.
More than a decade prior, there was a Big Blue clash in Hobart and the two most successful sides in Australian football entertained the crowd in a 1-1 draw.
We take a look at where that starting XI are now and who they currently play with.
Ivan Necevski: Goal Keeper
Ivan Necevski made over 47 appearances in the Sky Blue jersey across seven years. Departing with Sydney FC in 2016, the goal keeper ventured to the Central Coast Mariners before joining the APIA Leichhardt to play in the NPL.
Matthew Jurman: Centre Back
Matthew Jurman debuted in the A-League for Sydney FC. Jurman played for his maiden club between the years 2007 till 2011, and 2013 till 2016. The centre back has had an impeccable career, debuting for the Socceroos at age 27 in 2017. Now playing for Macarthur FC, Jurman continues his career in professional football.
Aaron Calver: Centre Back
Debuting at age 16, Calver became Sydney FC’s second youngest player after Terry Antonis. Calver went on to represent Sydney FC for seven seasons, including the Asian Champions League. In 2022, he was released from Western United and accepted a contract with Gwangju FC before taking up his current role at Daejeon Hana Citizen.
Sebastian Ryall: Right Back
Sebastian Ryall signed with Sydney FC at the beginning of the 2009/2010 season. In the 2015/2016 season, Ryall went on to sport the captains armband after Alex Brosque suffered a leg injury. Ryall went on to receive ‘Best on Ground’ awards during his stint as a Sky Blue Skipper. In 2018, he requested his contract be terminated to pursue other passions outside of football. Ryall went on to write and self-publish an e-book available on the Amazon Kindle Store.
Alex Gersbach: Left Back
Selected to play in the Young Socceroos for the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship qualification, Alex Gersbach has had an impeccable international career. After receiving a call-up for the senior national team, Gersbach went on to represent Australia after Brad Smith was subbed off. The promising player went on to set up Mathew Leckie’s last minute winning goal. Since his departure from the Harbour City club in 2016, the defender has gone on to play for Rosenborg, Lens, NAC Breda, AGF, Grenoble, and more recently, the Colorado Rapids.
Milos Dimitrijevic: Centre Midfield
The Serbian midfielder wore the Sky Blue jersey for three years. In 2017, a mutual termination of contract was agreed to and Dimitrijevic moved back to Serbia to be closer to his family. In 2020, he stated that he lived between France and Serbia to look after his grandparents and maintain his business that focuses on medical rehabilitation devices for sports clubs and athletes.
Terry Antonis: Attacking Midfielder / Left Winger
At 16-years old, Terry Antonis joined Sydney FC for a five year campaign before joining Western Sydney Wanderers. Before his departure, the young gun made three A-League Final appearances and one grand final. Antonis has continued his A-League career and currently plays in the midfield for Melbourne City.
Nick Carle: Midfielder
Despite announcing his retirement from professional football in July 2016 after an ongoing anterior cruciate ligament injury, the former Socceroo remained close to Sydney FC. The iconic midfielder accepted a position at the Sydney FC Academy before moving on to the SD Raiders in the NPL in 2020 as the Head Coach of the first team.
Max Burgess: Centre Midfielder
The current Sydney FC midfielder has made over 76 appearances for the club. Burgess has gone on to have a successful career at four different clubs. However, the young player has decided to remain at Sydney FC, signing a contract extension last season. In a recent match against the Newcastle Jets, Burgess scored a double, cementing himself as one of the most influential players on the pitch.
Marc Janko: Striker
Before joining Sydney FC as their marquee player for the 2014/2015 fixture, Janko had spent time at Red Bull Salzburg, Twente, Porto and Trabzonspor. The Austrian made only 25 appearances for Sydney FC but netted an impressive 16 goals in his A-League career, adding more in pre-season with one of these goals being at North Hobart Oval in 2014. Since his departure from the Sky Blues, Janko has represented Austria on a national level as well as Basel, Sparta Prague and Swiss Super League club, Lugano. He retired from professional football in 2018.
Shane Smeltz: Striker
Shane Smeltz was one of the most notable strikers in the A-League in the early 2010’s and spent some years with the Sky Blues. In 2018, Smeltz retired from professional football and signed on with Gold Coast united for the NPL competition. In 2023, it was announced that the striker signed for Guiseley FC, a seventh tier semi-professional football club located in Leeds, UK.
The Sky Blues will return to Hobart this Saturday as they take on bottom of the table Western United as they look to move back into the top six.
Match Details:
Sydney FC v Western United FC
Isuzu UTE A-League Round 15
Saturday 3rd February
North Hobart Oval, Hobart, TAS
Kick Off: 5:00pm AEDT
Broadcast Live: Paramount+
Tickets: Click Here
