It’s been a long road, but having reached 100 games for Perth Glory, Josh Risdon has established himself as one of the league’s best fullbacks.
Perth Glory’s history in the A-League era has been disappointing to say the least. No longer the powerhouse they were in the NSL, the title-contending teams of the past are long gone and have taken the fervent crowds with them. However, through all the off-field drama and on-field failure, one of their few success stories has been right-back Josh Risdon, who made his 100th appearance for the club last Saturday night.
While he didn’t finish the game with a late goal from outside the box with the score at 2-2 (like he did the last time Perth faced Western Sydney Wanderers at home), the game marked a big milestone in an already memorable career at the Glory. Since making his debut in 2010, Risdon has gone from promising backup to one of the best fullbacks in the league and a Socceroos prospect.
Born in Bunbury, roughly three hours’ drive south of Perth, Risdon showed remarkable promise from an early age. At age 14 he made the big decision to move to Joondalup, one of Perth’s most northern suburbs, to chase his dreams and improve his footballing education. What’s impressive is he made the move alone, leaving his parents behind – a bold step for anyone, not least a teenager just a couple of years outside of primary school.
Moving three-and-a-half hours away from his family was no doubt daunting, but he refused to let it stall his progress. The fullback made his way through the ranks at ECU Joondalup, the club famous for producing Socceroos Rhys Williams, Shane Lowry and Chris Herd, while also working as a chef to support himself. His performances caught the eye of firstly Football West’s National Training Centre program (of which Sainsbury was also a part of) and then Perth Glory, who signed him 2008.
It took two years, but Risdon eventually made his debut for Perth, against the North Queensland Fury, but he found opportunities limited behind another young West Australian, Scott Neville. Neville was viewed by some as a future Glory captain and one of the country’s most promising players, however, a season-ending injury in in late 2011 opened the door for Risdon, and he took his opportunity with both hands.
He made 24 appearances and played a key role as the club stormed to the Grand Final, which they lost in controversial fashion to Brisbane Roar. Despite the painful end to the season, so good was Risdon’s play, not only did the club allow Neville to leave in the off-season, but he also won the club’s highest honour – the Most Glorious Player award.
Risdon continued to progress and win plaudits, catching the eye of the Glory faithful with his dashing runs up the right-hand side. His attacking instincts were lauded – he always looked to get forward and contribute in attack – and his pace proved vital on the counter-attack. Over time, his defensive play has also improved, while he still loves to bomb up the wing today, his positioning, tackling and reading of the game has come on in leaps and bounds, to the point where he can be counted on to deliver at both ends of the pitch.
One of the reasons fans took to Risdon so well is because he’s a local boy. Western Australians love their own and harbour a reserved dislike of the eastern states. The Glory have been criticised in the past for overlooking young, Western Australian talent, only for them to become significant contributors for other A-League clubs. The likes of Trent Sainsbury, Eli Babalj, Adam Taggart and Mark Birighitti were all WA products, and yet none of them made their name in Perth. Yet Risdon was different, he was the country boy who worked his up way through the ranks, won his place, and refused to let go of it.
He suffered a setback during the Alistair Edwards reign, sustaining a knee injury away to Newcastle early in the season. Replacement young Matthew Davies filled in for him, and did a great job as well. When he came back from injury, he struggled to find his form and perhaps he was worried Davies would surpass him in the same way he overtook Neville. If he was scared, he put those fears to bed, winning back his starting spot at the start of the 2014/15 season and making 30 seasons, forcing Davies to head to Malaysia in search of first-team football.
The past 18 months have seen Risdon take his game to the next level, now one of the first names on Kenny Lowe’s team sheet. The now 23-year-old has slowly become one of the best right-backs in the A-League. While the media’s tendency to neglect Perth in terms of coverage meant he flew under the radar for a long time, his performances over the last season and-a-half say more than any newspaper could.
More importantly, he’s caught the eye of those who matter, including Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou. After being unlucky to miss out on a Socceroos call-up on a number of occasions, the fullback finally got his chance in the most recent World Cup qualifiers, winning his first ever cap for the national team against Bangladesh.
So what’s next for the boy from Bunbury? There were rumours a deal with a club in Belgium fell through this off-season just gone, with his contract at the Glory finished in six months’ time, it would be no surprise to see him look to Europe again. If they get offers in January, the club may even look to sell him, rather than potentially lose a player they nurtured for free. While it could mean a sad farewell from Perth, the upshot is Risdon will be able to move to the next stage of his career, one he’s proven he deserves it.
No matter what happens, to many in Western Australia, Josh Risdon will be the local boy come good.
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