NPL STARS-TURNED-REAL ESTATE AGENTS ARE HOT PROPERTY
A CAREER focus has delivered two of the region’s best football talents to Edge Hill United for the 2018 Premier Men’s season.
Former FNQ Heat teammates Kevin Ward and Matthew Filip have put their football ambitions aside for another field – real estate – and their experience will be vital to the Tigers’ revival.
Ward said joining Edge Hill was a logical choice having previously worked under coach Paul Fitzgerald at Marlin Coast.
“I think that’s one of the main reasons I’ve gone there with ‘Fitzy’ but I think also the challenge that is in front of us as well, going from not winning a game last year and I think that’s a good challenge for me personally now that I’m not playing NPL,” the goalkeeper said.
The move is a sign of just how much promise he sees in his career considering he earned a trial with A-League club Central Coast Mariners last year.
“Learning from the likes of Paul Okon and players around of that calibre was fantastic,” Ward said. “But I’m not coming back to Edge Hill thinking it’s going to be easy. It’s not going to be easy.”
Ward, who trained with Cairns FC in the preseason, is in a race against time to be fit for Round 1 after unusually straining a meniscus ligament in his right knee while kicking a ball in the club’s first trial match.
“It has been five weeks since I’ve done it so after Easter I should be having my first hitout,” he said.
Filip started the season with Cairns FC but felt he couldn’t fully commit to the week-to-week schedule of NPL and balance a burgeoning career.
“I actually used to play for Edge Hill growing up since I was five years old so I just thought I’d go back to my old club and I’m looking forward to a good season,” he said.
I’M NOT COMING BACK TO EDGE HILL THINKING IT’S GOING TO BE EASY. IT’S NOT GOING TO BE EASY GOALKEEPER KEVIN WARD