27 Apr 2013

Three All Whites in A-League team of year

6:39 am on 27 April 2013

Despite their disastrous football season, the Wellington Phoenix still managed to get striker Jeremy Brockie into the A-League team of the year, which was selected by their peers.

And Brockie was joined by fellow All Whites Michael McGlinchey, who starred in the Central Coast Mariners' run to their maiden title, and Marco Rojas, who's just flown to Germany for a reported medical with VfB Stuttgart after leaving the Melbourne Victory.

Western Sydney Wanderers were rewarded for their impressive debut season with four players earning spots in the marquee team, with Shinji Ono, goalkeeper Ante Covic and defenders Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Jerome Polenz all making the Professional Football Australia side.

The Wanderers' Tony Popovic was also named coach.

The Victory also had four players named in the overall 16-man squad including team captain Mark Milligan, plus Archie Thompson was included on the five-man bench.

Seven A-League clubs were represented in the team.

Sydney FC's former Italian international Alessandro Del Piero was also picked after his stellar season.

PFA team (4-3-3 formation): Ante Covic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Jerome Polenz (Western Sydney Wanderers), Trent Sainsbury (Central Coast Mariners), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (Western Sydney Wanderers), Adama Traore (Melbourne Victory), Shinji Ono (Western Sydney Wanderers), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory, capt), Michael McGlinchey (Central Coast Mariners), Jeremy Brockie (Wellington Phoenix), Alessandro Del Piero (Sydney FC), Marco Rojas (Melbourne Victory). Substitutes: Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United), Michael Thwaite (Perth Glory), Marcelo Carrusca (Adelaide United), Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory), Daniel McBreen (Central Coast Mariners). Coach: Tony Popovic (Western Sydney Wanderers) Referee: Strebre Delovski