Werribee City’s Stephen Lawless has taken out the 2023 National Premier League 2 best and fairest.
The midfielder moved to Australia from Ireland earlier this year to play for Werribee, and has stood out as a class above the rest.
“Prior to me coming to Australia in February, I actually went over a year without playing football,” he said.
“So to come over on very, very short notice, in the space of two weeks I was onto Werribee and next minute I’m flying over.
“I was just setting myself a lot of personal goals in terms of how many games I wanted to play and trying to make as much of an impact as possible, but I was never expecting or thinking outside the box in terms of an overall award.”
Coach Domenic Barba couldn’t be prouder of what his player has been able to achieve in his short tenure at the club.
“Lawless is one of our most coveted senior players, whose name is synonymous with leadership, both on and off the field,” Barba said.
“At the heart of Stevie’s journey lies a remarkable display of dedication, commitment, loyalty and integrity.
“His tenacity and sheer determination was a hallmark of his game, terrorising opponents, leaving them in awe of his ability to turn the game on its head with every action.”
The connection between player and coach has been one Lawless said has helped him a lot with his soccer.
“Dom has been unbelievable with me, like even just as a person outside of football, he’s made me feel very welcome, made me feel a big part of the season from day one,” Lawless said.
“It goes for the rest of the staff and players as well, I feel like from day one I’ve just hit the ground running.
“To be given the platform to play and enjoy your football, so I owe everybody at the club a lot.”
While the Bee’s only finished in 11th spot, thanks to Lawless’ efforts they ended up with 10 more points than they did last year, holding them in good stead for the seasons to come.
“He certainly was a key reason why Werribee City were very competitive in 2023 and his character and culture infected us all to strive for better, to be better,” Barba said.
“His commitment to the jersey and the fans has been nothing short of awe-inspiring, a testament to the spirit of dedication that defines him.”
However, due to visa restrictions and requirements there is no guarantee Lawless will be able to hang around for the 2024 season.
“I’m not sure what the plan is yet,” Lawless said.
“I’m going to try to do a year or two in Australia, but I have a bit of a headache at the moment in terms of my year two visa.
“The plan would be to try and get that done prior to the year’s end and then I can go into preseason and try and get myself fit.
“But I have absolutely no plans to go back home to Ireland, that’s for sure.”
